

"Sm/f EVERY X 
W WOMAN'S 
LIBRARY 

EDITED BY 

MARGARET E. SANGSTER 

DR. EMMA E. WALKER 
.^ HAMILTON W. MABIE 
^i \il Nr>:^i5v and others 





j^^^^^^^i 




VOLUME III 

ENTERTAINMENTS 
AND GAMES 

BY 

CLARA E. LAUGHLIN 

and others 



THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC. 
NEW YORK 






Copyright, 1906, by 
D. APPLETON & COMPANY 



Copyright, 1910, by 
THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY, INC. 

COPVaiGHT UFFIO£ 



PREFACE 



'^T^HIS little volume is not a cyclopedia of 
entertainment, but in it will be found 
gathered together a reasonable number and a 
pleasing variety of well-tried formulas for family 
and social parties, and descriptions of games and 
amusements. A woman w^ho wants to give a 
birthday party for one of her children, or a lawn- 
party for a visiting friend, or to provide games 
and amusements for the home, will find in these 
pages specific directions or helpful suggestions. 

'' As a means of bringing the members of the 
household together, and establishing companion- 
ship between old and young, there is nothing 
more effective than the common interest and 
merry emulation enlisted in favorite games. 

No parents can afford to let any other place 
furnish more attraction for their children than 
their ov/n home; nor should parents fail to make 
themselves a part of home attractions. 

*' Nothing so quickly breaks down barriers 
between new acquaintances, and thaws the ice of 
formality, as playing at games. 

We believe a great many women will find 
this volume so indispensable that they will keep 
iii 



^ 



PREFACE 



it on their desks and refer to it constantly; find 
in it ever some good, practical idea to carry with 
them to the social committee meetings of church 
or club ; some welcome suggestion about the 
hospitality of their homes; some bright idea 
that, introduced at a party in the home of a 
friend, will call forth the fervent gratitude of 
the hostess/' 

The material in this volume has been selected 
from many sources, and we desire to express our 
appreciation of the courtesies extended by various 
publishers, and especially for permission to re- 
print copious selections from ^^ The Complete 
Hostess," the copyright of which is owned by 
D. Appleton & Company. 



CONTENTS 



Boys 



AND 



Informal Entertaining 
Formal Entertaining 
Outdoor Entertainments 
Children's Parties . 
Entertainments for Older 

Girls .... 
Indoor Games . 
Toys and Toy-Games 
Tricks .... 

Puzzles and Conundrums 
Outdoor Games 
Church and Society Entertain 

ments 

School Exhibitions and Exercises 



PAGE 
I 

35 
49 

61 
73 
145 
153 
171 
197 

235 
258 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 



INFORMAL ENTERTAINING 

T N the interchange of social courtesies nothing 
requires more of tact and consideration than 
the giving and receiving of home entertainment. 
Rightly regarded, the simple and informal en- 
tertainment of guests IS far more complimentary 
to them than is any elaborate '' function." Many 
persons, however, not appreciating this, treat an 
invitation to partake of informal hospitality with 
a negligence they would never dream of showing 
a formal invitation. And many who extend in- 
formal hospitality think so lightly of the matter 
that their entertainment, instead of being a de- 
light, becomes a bore. 

The prime instinct of the hospitable soul is 
to do honor to its guest. This honor may be 
expressed in many ways, but expressed in some 
way it must be, or the hospitality better be left 
unoffered. 



ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 



You do honor to any one when you ask him 
to break bread with you beneath your rooftree, 
particularly if you ask him to join your family 
circle about the table. If your heart is glad be- 
cause of the presence of your friend, 30U will 
incline to make his presence the occasion of some 
little celebration. It may be only a handful of 
his favorite posies on the table; it may be the 
serving of his favorite dessert or salad, which 
he says he never gets elsewhere as good as you 
serve it; it may be shown forth in the spotless 
linen and '' best " china, which say to him, as 
he sits down to them, '' Your com.ing makes this 
a gala-day for us!" This is the kind of hos- 
pitality that warms hearts and sweetens life, and 
there can never be too much of it. 

INFORMAL DINNERS 

When a few friends are asked to dine in- 
formally with you and your family, be as careful 
to avoid all appearance of strain and effort as 
you are to avoid appearance of carelessness and 
lack of thought. Select for your viands a num- 
ber and variety which represent a happy medium 
between an ordinary family meal and an ex- 
traordinary, formal dinner. If you know the 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 3 

tastes of )^our friends, pay them the compliment 
of remembrance. But do not undertake anything 
in the way of a menu that will tax too heavily 
the household machinery. Do not try new dishes 
on guests, and do not, if you have but one maid 
and she must wait at table, attempt anything 
which requires her constant presence in the kitchen 
when she should be in the dining-room. 

The table, however simply furnished, should 
be miade attractive. There are a thousand and 
one ways in which a dainty woman can beautify 
her table at next to no expense, but it takes 
time and thought. A woman of wealth may hire 
caterer and florist to serve her guests, but she 
cannot give her entertainment the little, intimate, 
personal air which is hospitality, unless she lends 
herself to the effort. A woman of modest means 
can give her guests as much of the exquisite 
essence of hospitality as the wealthy woman can, 
and the informal little dinner is par excellence 
the sweet, dainty housekeeper's opportunity. 

HIGH TEA 

If a hostess wishes to ask twelve or sixteen 
or twenty friends to a meal with her, and does 
not feel able to undertake a dinner for so many, 



4 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

a high tea is a charming way of getting around 
the difficulty. A high tea is really a substantial 
supper quite as " filling " as a dinner and much 
easier to serve. On a cold winter night it may 
not be to every one an acceptable substitute for 
a dinner, unless it occur on Sunday after a hearty 
midday meal, or on a holiday — New Year's, for 
instance. But on a hot summer night many 
people will find a high tea a delightful substitute 
for a heavy dinner, and in those communities 
where midday dinner is the rule it will always 
be in order. A pretty, social way to serve it 
is on small tables. 

Let us suppose you have asked guests enough 
to make your whole number, including yourself 
and family, sixteen or twenty. You have tried 
to keep the number of each sex the same, as at 
a dinner. While your guests are chatting in 
parlor or sitting-room and dining-room, ask one 
of the gentlemen most at home in your house, 
or one of the members of your own family, to 
help you carry in four or five small tables — 
card-tables or folding sewing-tables, or any others 
you may own or borrow. When these have been 
placed according to your directions, cover each 
with a snowy little tea-cloth or pretty center- 
piece, or, failing these, with a large dinner- 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 5 

napkin. Then lay at each place — laying four 
places for each table — a knife, fork (or two 
forks), spoon or spoons, as your menu will 
demand, napkin, and water-tumbler; also, if you 
have them, a bread-and-butter plate and a butter- 
spreader. If you do not own these latter, serve 
a neat little ball or square of butter in an in- 
dividual butter-dish at each place. Provide each 
table with a little dish of salted nuts and an- 
other dish in which are olives, radishes, celery, 
according to season, all strewn with fine-chopped 
ice to keep them cool and crisp. Also provide 
salt for each table, and if you can muster enough 
cream and sugar sets, have one on each table; 
otherwise, pass cream and sugar from guest to 
guest on a tray immediately following the tray 
from which coffee, tea, or chocolate is served. 
Either seat your guests as you think they will 
like — always a delicate task, calling for much 
thought — or allow them to form their own quar- 
tets. When all are seated, begin serving what- 
ever you have provided. 

A CHAFING-DISH SUPPER 

A chafing-dish supper may consist of a single 
appetizing concoction made by a hostess for half 



6 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

a dozen friends after theater, concert, or lecture, 
or after they have spent a couple of hours playing 
cards; or it may be a fascinating substitute for 
either an informal dinner or high tea. For the 
latter, ask eight or ten persons for a chafing-dish 
supper at, say, seven o'clock. Ask each lady to 
bring her own chafing-dish, or arrange to borrow 
extra ones, so that there shall be one for each 
lady, or one for each couple. Sometimes a man 
has a fancy for this kind of cooking, and a de- 
cided talent for it, in which case he is always 
delighted with an opportunity to show his ac- 
complishment. Make your menu out very care- 
fully long beforehand, and get everything ready, 
as far as possible, in advance of the guests' arrival. 
Stretch your dining table to an ample length, 
and set it w^ith centerpiece and doilies (no cloth), 
and with the necessaries for each place (as for a 
high tea). In front of each chafing-dish have 
every ingredient for the thing that is to be 
cooked therein; and with regard to the dishes 
themselves, have the alcohol-lamps filled and the 
hot-water pans half filled with boiling water. 

If the night be cold and the guests' appetites 
sharp, it will be well to serve a hot clear soup 
in cups, which may be eaten while the various 
concoctions are under way. In one chafing-dish 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 7 

cook salmon, whitefish, or even common salted 
codfish, lobster, oysters, crab-meat — whatever is 
available and liked — in a cream sauce, seasoned 
to taste. When it is ready, have hot plates 
brought in, and a plate of hot toast cut in tri- 
angles or rounds. Serve the hot fish on the 
toast, and with it sandwiches of fresh Boston 
brown bread, buttered and cut in dainty shapes; 
also olives, celery, etc. Meanwhile, in another 
dish another cook has been preparing sweetbreads 
with button mushrooms or asparagus-tips, or 
creamed chicken, or a curry, or some appetizing 
stew of veal warmed up in a brown gravy sea- 
soned to the Queen's taste. And the other dishes 
have French peas heated smoking hot, with butter 
and seasoning, potatoes creamed or cooked with 
a taste of onion. Serve coffee with this course 
and hot bread of some kind. For a salad, have 
something not too rich — perhaps a lettuce salad 
with a highly seasoned French dressing made on 
the table after the chafing-dishes have been re- 
moved. Crackers and cheese should be passed 
with the salad course; also salted nuts, if they 
have not been on the table all the time. 

Dessert should be cold, and not too hearty; 
for this supper, if properly cooked and served, 
is so appetizing that most people will partake 



8 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

more heartily of it than of the regulation dinner, 
and anything so heavy as shortcake, dumplings, or 
rich pudding is little likely to be acceptable. 
An orange ice served in a sherbet-glass, and with 
a bit of fresh home-made sponge cake or sunshine 
cake, is sure to be far better appreciated. 

A STAG-DINNER 

A man usually appreciates this kind of a cele- 
bration arranged for him by his wife or mother 
on his birthday; and on other occasions, when 
he desires an opportunity to talk at length with 
men friends about the improvement of the golf- 
links, or the management of the merchants' street 
fair, or the finances of the church, or the building 
of a new club-house, he is pleased to have the 
talk ta':e place around his own dining-table, over 
an appetizing dinner. On such an occasion the 
hostess may receive the guests in the parlor, and 
retire when dinner is ready to serve, or may 
preside at the table and retire when the time 
arrives for coffee and cigars. She will be 
thoughtful to provide the kind of a dinner most 
men like, venturing on no ^^ fangle-dangles,'' and 
remembering that men usually care little for 
sweets and a great deal for the substantial. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 



INFORMAL LUNCHEONS 

Informal luncheons are capable of an infinite 
number of variations and surprises. Sometimes 
men are asked to them, but oftenest the guests are 
women only, and in the case of the most success- 
ful luncheons women who are pretty well ac- 
quainted with each other and at least fairly con- 
genial. Luncheon, whether formal or informal, 
is now almost invariably served on a bare table, 
with doilies and centerpieces instead of a cloth. 
A few flowers appropriate to the season should 
always grace the table, and the menu should be 
*' short and sweet " — that is to say, not many 
things, but everything very dainty. There are 
a great many dishes which are appropriate only to 
luncheon, and which the housewife whose men- 
folk stand too conservatively (for her liking) by 
roast beef and roast lamb and mashed potatoes 
and apple-pie, delights to serve to an appreciative 
company not afraid of novelties but frankly in 
hope of them. In serving dinners, it is always 
safest to stick as closely as one can to things that 
nearly everybody likes, without danger of monot- 
ony. But when entertaining women at luncheon 
it is always in order to present any novelty with 
which the hostess has thoroughly familiarized 



IP ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

herself. Women dearly love to learn a new 
salad, a new dessert, a new cream soup, or entree, 
and it is safe to say that one of the prime in- 
gredients of a successful little luncheon is a 
culinary surprise — if it is a good one! 

AFTERNOON TEA 

Afternoon tea is, happily, no longer associated 
in most people's minds with the great halls of 
English country mansions, with footmen and 
^* equipages " of solid silver. Within the last 
few years a great number of persons in this 
country have come to look upon afternoon tea 
as a matter of course, quite as much as luncheon, 
and in countless communities, little and big, this 
social afternoon hour is fast becoming one of the 
pleasantest of all occasions for informal inter- 
course. All that is necessary to make it is the 
will to enjoy it, and a pot of tea; or, if the day 
be warm, a pitcher of lemonade, and a plate of 
sweet crackers, jumbles, cookies, or dainty sand- 
wiches. When our mothers went a-calling on 
their lady friends, a generation ago, they used 
to be served with slices of ^' black fruit '' and 
pound-cake, from the tin cake-box which was 
locked away from all danger of family depreda- 
tions, and a dainty glass of gooseberry shrub or 



it 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING ii 

raspberry cordial or port wine, as the case might 
be. It was a pretty custom, which many were 
sorry to see pass. 

The afternoon-tea custom is as good, however, 
and in many respects better. The tea may be 
made for any guest who chances in betw^een the 
hours of four and six, or it may be a stated 
occasion, served every day at a certain hour which 
your friends know; they know, too, that they 
are more than welcome to join you for that 
** bite and sup " and the accompanying conversa- 
tion. If you are so fortunate as to be able to 
set out a pretty, permanent tea-table in your 
sitting-room, and furnish it with teakettle (and 
spirit-lamp), teapot, cups, sugar-bowl, and other 
accessories, of course you appreciate the social 
attractiveness of such an adjunct to your living- 
room, and the charming sociability of brewing 
your own tea while you talk with your friends. 
But if you have no tea-table, do not disdain 
afternoon tea; it may be made in the kitchen and 
brought in, steaming and fragrant, for immediate 
service in your ordinary teacups. 

NEIGHBORHOOD CARD-PARTY 

The neighborhood card-party is very popular 
nowadays. In the afternoon, when ladies only 



12 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

are invited, the refreshments are usually very 
simple, and served on the card-tables, an em- 
broidered or hem-stitched white cloth being laid 
on each one. Ices and cake, or a variety of 
sandwiches, and tea, coffee, or chocolate, are a 
sufficient menu. In the evening, if gentlemen 
are of the party, supper is usually served in the 
dining-room, and is somewhat more substantial, 
salad, croquettes, or oysters being in order. A 
card-club, meeting at the houses of different mem- 
bers in turn, is apt to make rules of its own as 
to the supper, so that it shall not become too 
elaborate. Usually, in all card-clubs, when mem- 
bers are not able to be present, the hostess has 
the right to invite any one she chooses to fill 
the -^.cancies. Some card-clubs allow the hostess 
to invi^" guests for an extra table. Care should 
be taken Lrii-t the cards are fresh and clean, and 
pencils and scjre-cards ready at each table; and 
a dish of bonbons on each is a dainty accessory, 
appreciated by the feminine players. A chafing- 
dish supper goes well with a small evening card- 
party, but one chafing-dish cannot supply more 
than eight guests, so it is always well to make 
this calculation. The sandwiches for a card- 
party can now be cut into appropriate shapes, 
thanks to the new cake-cutters, in diamond, heart, 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 13 

spade, and club forms. Cakes cut in these forms 
and iced pink for the diamonds and hearts, and 
chocolate for the clubs and spades, are just the 
thing with the ices. 

A card-club usually has no prizes. An individ- 
ual card-party often has prizes, but they should 
be simple — a box of candy, a bunch of roses, etc. 
If prizes are to be played for, it is necessary 
for the hostess, or some one deputed by her, to 
go around the tables, in the progressive games, 
with stars to gum. upon the score-cards of those 
who progress; and these score-cards should have 
the name of the player Vv'ritten upon them for 
identification when collected after the game is 
over. Those with tie-scores draw for progres- 
sion, and for the prizes in the end, if necessary. 
When giving a card-party to those not very 
familiar with cards, seven-handed euchre is by 
far the easiest game and the most fun for all 
the players. Games where only four play at one 
table, oi course, limit one's invitations a great 
deal, compared with those where seven or eight, 
or more, can play at each table. In any game 
which is not progressive, it is wise for the hostess 
to put people of about the same skill at the same 
table. Nothing gives a good card-player a more 
stupid afternoon or evening than an ignorant 



14 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

partner, and one poor player at a table with three 
good ones is bound to be profoundly uncomforta- 
ble, unless a remarkable run of luck conceals the 
deficiency. Cards, to some players, are a very 
serious matter, even when no prizes are played 
for, and a suitable choice of partners is therefore 
necessary. 

SEWING-CIRCLE 

The old-fashioned sewing-circle still holds its 
own in many towns. It may commence at any 
hour in the afternoon, but the pleasantest form, 
perhaps, is that where the sewing begins about 
five, supper is served at half-past seven, and a 
social time follows until nine or ten. Those who 
do not sew must be fined, the amount of the fine 
varying with the needs of those for whose benefit 
the sewing-circle is working. Some sewing-circle 
suppers — as in Boston, the original home of the 
idea — are elaborate nowadays, with varied courses 
and formal serving. But a plain, bountiful hot 
supper is the original plan, served rather in- 
formally. A sewing-circle may be held in the 
early afternoon, with sandwiches and tea as re- 
freshment at five, and the members not staying 
to supper at all. Or a luncheon may begin it, 
and the sewing fill the afternoon. The most de- 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 15 

lightful sewing-circles are those formed by the 
girls who graduate from a certain school, or live 
in a certain neighborhood, and who form a circle 
which is kept up year after year to a certain 
number, usually about sixteen or twenty, new 
members being elected for those who move away 
or die. Meeting once a fortnight, they form a 
strong social bond and become recognized powers. 
In Boston, some sew^ing-circles have been meeting 
for thirty or forty years, and to be invited into 
them is rightly considered a very high honor. 
Members are allowed to bring guests staying 
in their houses, but no outsiders are admitted in 
some sewing-circles. In others, the hostess can 
invite as she pleases. 

VARIOUS ENTERTAINMENTS 

Besides indoor games described in another 
section, there are many kinds of contests, etc., for 
informal home entertainments in the evening 
that afford great fun. Hearts of red cardboard 
or motto sugar-candy hearts, quotations without 
the name of the author, can each be hidden 
throughout the rooms, and a heart-hunt or a 
quotation-contest be started. The one who finds 
the most hearts, or the most quotations he or 
she can identify, wins the prize. The telegram- 



i6 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

game is amusing. Ten letters are chosen by the 
guests at random, and these ten letters are given 
out as the initials of a ten-word telegram to be 
written by each guest. Sometimes a subject is 
given, which makes it all the harder and funnier. 

A word-hunt is somewhat intricate. Each guest 
draws a card, on which is written a number and 
'' Your word has six letters," or eight or ten, as 
the case may be. All over the rooms are hidden 
the letters, written on some fancy form of card 
or paper. On Saint Patrick's Day they can be 
written on tiny shamrocks; on Washington's 
Birthday on red paper hatchets; on Fourth of 
July on little flags, and so on. With each letter 
is the number of its word. The first one to 
find all the letters belonging to his or her number, 
and make the right word from them, wins a prize. 

A Dickens, Kipling, Longfellow, or Scott even- 
ing has great possibilities. The guests may be 
requested to come dressed to represent some 
character, or using some characteristic speech or 
action to show it forth. The Village Black- 
smith might wield an imaginary hammer, and 
Cap'n Cuttle repeat some of his aphorisms. The 
game of authors, or a Dickens game, may be 
played, or selections from the author chosen may 
be read or recited. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 17 

A book-party, where each comes as a book 
written by the chosen author, and the one guess- 
ing nearest the entire list of guests wins the prize, 
is always popular. A new form of it may be 
the twentieth-century book-party, in which no 
book must be represented that has not been written 
since 1900. 

A Shakespeare conundrum-party requires a 
clever person to write the conundrums, or hunt 
them up, as witness this sample: *^ If checks could 
speak, what character in * Julius Caesar ' would 
they name? Cassius.'' Each person is given 
three minutes to answer in writing the conun- 
drum on his or her card, and must then pass it 
along to the next. The lists of answers (each 
guest has a pencil and a sheet of paper to write 
them on) are collected and the prize given at 
the end. 

A Japanese, Klondike, Italian, Scotch, Irish, 
or German evening should have a supper to cor- 
respond. National airs sung or played, the rooms 
decorated to match, and the host and hostess and 
guests costumed, if possible, make a pretty affair. 
A Klondike pile, of cotton, to look like snow, with 
a tiny shovel for each guest to dig out a favor 
of some comic kind, is amusing. 

A harvest-party, to which each guest is invited 



1 8 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

to come as a fruit or vegetable, offers opportunities 
for all sorts of fun. 

Then there is the brown party, where all the 
invitations are written on brown paper, the host 
and hostess receive in brow^n, and the prizes for 
the games or at the card-tables are all brown, 
while the refreshments are coffee, cocoa, dough- 
nuts, ginger-cake, a variety of brown bread, sand- 
v/iches, chocolate-cake, and ice-cream, and choco- 
late and molasses candy. 

The witch-party, or superstition-party, can be 
made very thrilling indeed. The rooms are deco- 
rated with four-leaved clovers, wishbones, the 
number thirteen, black cardboard cats, broom- 
sticks, etc. The girls can wear black dominoes, 
high-crowned hats, and masks, if they wish to 
have a costume. One game is to have each per- 
son write on a slip of paper his or her favorite 
superstition, and then let the rest guess who the 
writer is, in spite of the mask. Another game 
is to sit round the fire, or round a caldron hung 
from a tripod in the middle of the floor, and 
each player casts in a fagot or an emblem of 
superstition — a bit of broken looking-glass, a 
wishbone, etc. — and must tell a ghost or witch 
story, or sing a song, or recite something appro- 
priate. The Witch Scene from Macbeth, of 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 19 

course, should be recited by somebody. After- 
ward, all unmask and dance. A fortune-teller, 
or gypsy, or palmist, fits very well into a party 
of this kind. 



ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 



FORMAL ENTERTAINING 

A FORMAL dinner is one of the most serious 
of undertakings, and should never be es- 
sayed by a woman with small resources and poor 
help. The main differences between a formal 
dinner and the prettiest sort of an informal 
dinner would be: First, in the nature of the 
invitations, which, for a formal dinner, are sent 
out two weeks ahead. This is done because the 
wise hostess knows that the success of her dinner 
depends very largely on the congeniality of the 
people she gathers around her board, and so she 
makes her best selection, and by putting in an 
early request for the time of those persons she 
desires to get together, she hopes to forestall other 
engagements on their part. A well-bred man or 
woman receiving an invitation to a formal dinner 
always replies immediately, by return mail if 
possible. Second, persons asked to a formal din- 
ner will be expected to wear formal dinner- 
dress. What this is depends on the community 
and on the social regulations observed by the 
hostess. In any case or place, it means evening 
dress for men. For women it may mean decollete 

20 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 21 

gowns, or pretty, dainty dresses with transparent 
yokes and elbow-sleeves, but it certainly means 
a whole gown of some sort, and not a skirt and 
blouse combination. If a woman asks you to a 
formal dinner and goes to the trouble and expense 
of decorating her house and table and arranging 
dainty lights and other accompaniments of a fes- 
tive scene, it is a positive insult to her to appear 
at her function in a street gown or some con- 
venient but unlovely combination of dark skirt 
and light w^st. If you do not know what she 
considers proper dinner-costume, you must find 
out somehow, and conform to it, or send your 
regrets. 

A third point about a formal dinner is that it 
is nearly always so large that conversation at 
the table is seldom general, but broken into 
groups, and guests are under special obligation 
to be entertaining to their dinner-partners, and 
to the gentleman or lady on the other side. 
So much for the differences from the guests' point 
of view. From the hostess's they are: A more 
elaborate menu, an absolute perfection of service, 
more lights, more flowers, etc., and usually some 
carefully planned entertainment for her guests 
when they have reassembled in the drawing-room. 
A blunder may be passed off at an informal 



22 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

dinner with a joke, which contributes much to 
the general merriment ; but a blunder at a formal 
dinner is a fatality which the hostess must pretend 
not to realize, though her pretense never deceives 
any one, and her guests know that she is gnashing 
her teeth over her spoiled entertainment. For 
the least mistake does spoil a formal dinner, 
whereas a succession of mishaps may only make 
memorably hilarious an informal one. 

Do not ask more people to a formal dinner 
than you can seat comfortably and serve ex- 
peditiously. Crowding and waiting may be en- 
dured at a reception, but at a dinner, never! 
Twenty inches is the very least space that should 
be allowed for each cover or place. And one 
waitress can scarcely do perfect justice to more 
than eight persons. Having decided '' how 
many " you may have, put all your most earnest 
thought into the matter of '' whom." Unless 
you can avoid all curious mixtures, all sugges- 
tions of ** hodgepodge," abandon the dinner en- 
tirely. No one can remember j^ou unpleasantly 
if you do not have a dinner at all, but several 
persons will surely remember you most unpleas- 
antly if you summon them to a prolonged boring 
from which no tact of their owq can help them 
to " shuffle." 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 23 

Between a formal luncheon and a dinner there 
is not a very great difference. Usually the table 
is not lighted for luncheon, the daylight being 
available except on dark and stormy days. The 
bare table by preference is used instead of a 
table-cloth, but the rule is not invariable, since 
many a dining-table is not handsome enough to 
exhibit. If bare, it needs embroidered doilies 
under the plates and dishes, and a centerpiece. 
Bouillon is serv^ed instead of soup, in the two- 
handled bouillon-cups. There are not so many 
vegetables on the menu, and no very substan- 
tial course. It is altogether a lighter affair than 
dinner. 

NEW year's dinner 

A New Year's dinner or luncheon can be made 
very pretty. The dates of the past and coming 
year in flowers or in green down the length of 
the table make a good decoration, and a dainty 
card-calendar at each plate is an appropriate 
souvenir. A tiny candle burning at each plate 
as the guests come in is a quaint idea, and the 
person whose candle burns longest is expected to 
have the best luck in the coming year. For the 
center of the table a New Year's cake with 



24 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

a thimble, a coin, and a ring in it, and with 
the date on it in icing — red on white — is an 
amusing device. It is cut for dessert, and as 
it is handed round, and each cuts a piece, the 
finder of the ring is to be wedded soon, the 
finder of the thimble to remain unmarried for 
that year, and the finder of the coin to grow rich, 
w^hich results in some excitement and fun. Holly 
and red ribbons can be added to the decoration 
in any quantity. 

Washington's birthday 

A dinner or luncheon for Washington's Birth- 
day offers many opportunities. Five four-inch 
ribbons, three red and two white, sew^ed together 
to represent the stripes of the flag and running 
lengthwise and across the table in the form of 
a cross, are the foundation of a striking decora- 
tion. A number of blue stars, cut from paper 
and sprinkled over the rest of the table-cloth, 
and a miniature Jerusalem cherry-tree, w^ith red, 
white, and blue crepe paper around the pot, with 
a toy hatchet leaning up against it, completes the 
effect. Old blue china should be used, if possi- 
ble, and candied cherries should be a feature 
somewhere in the courses— in the grape-fruit, for 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 25 

example — ^while each ice may have a spray of 
artificial cherries ornamenting it. 

SAINT Patrick's day 

A Saint Patrick's Day dinner or luncheon may 
have place-cards in shamrock shape, with the 
name in gold paint on the green, and the favors 
can be tiny pots of growing shamrocks. The 
centerpiece may be a bank of green ferns in the 
shape of a shamrock, with Irish flags rising from 
it, and green ribbons running to the pots at each 
plate. Roast pig could be one of the courses, 
and green soup (cream of asparagus or spinach), 
green vegetables, green icing on the cakes, and a 
creme de menthe sherbet or pistache ice-cream 
would harmonize the menu with the occasion, 
Irish songs could be sung after the guests leave 
the table. 



ALL FOOLS DAY 

An April-fool luncheon has for a centerpiece 
a globe of goldfish (an allusion to the French 
*' poisson d'avril," the equivalent of our April 
fool, meaning that fish are easily ''caught") 
and a tiny cap and bell at each plate for a 
souvenir. The menu is made up of '' April 



26 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

Fools." First, large green peppers, on lettuce- 
leaves, look like a salad, but when the top is 
lifted off an oyster cocktail is inside. Then 
baked potatoes, large and piled on a platter, are 
passed, and prove to be full of minced sweet- 
bread and fresh mushrooms. Turnovers and dev- 
iled crabs turn out to be pieces of broiled or 
roasted chicken wrapped in pie-crust, and the 
crab-shells contain creamed potatoes dusted over 
with cheese and browned in the oven. Tomato 
salad is found to be raspberry ice, molded in 
tomato form, on leaves of paper lettuce. In 
each ^' tomato '' lies a heaped spoonful of what 
appears to be mayonnaise, but is a soft custard. 
Pill-boxes full of tiny candles, covered with 
cake-batter, baked and iced like little pink and 
white cakes, are the last deception, with chocolate 
peppermints made of large button-molds coated 
with chocolate. White peppermints of smaller 
size can be made in the same way with ordinary 
icing. 

EASTER LUNCHEON 

For Easter tables, eggs, rabbits, tiny chickens, 
butterflies, and spring flowers are ready to choose 
from. Butterflies made from crepe and tissue- 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 27 

paper can be combined with the wild flowers or 
spring blossoms in lovely decorations, and could 
also be hand-painted on the place-cards. Egg- 
shaped bonbon boxes, or bunches of flowers, are 
appropriate Easter favors. 



FOURTH OF JULY 

The Fourth of July table for an informal din- 
ner or luncheon is overflowingly patriotic. A 
tiny flag at every plate, a group of flags in the 
center, rising from a bank of red geraniums edged 
with white ones, and those again with bluets, 
bonbons in firecracker or firework shapes, blocks 
of vanilla and raspberry ice sprinkled with can- 
died violets — these are all reminders of the day; 
and patriotic songs are also in order. 

ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT 

The announcement of an engagement is often 
made at a dinner or luncheon for intimate friends. 
The place-cards can be heart-shaped, with the 
intertw^ined initials of the fiancees as a decoration. 
A heart-shaped bank of pink or red carnations, 
with gilt arrows sticking here and there, makes 
a good centerpiece, and at each place a heart- 



28 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

shaped doily is used, beside which are a cluster 
of carnations tied with pink or red ribbon, one 
end of which runs to the center and is attached 
to an arrow. Each guest pulls out his or her 
arrow^, upon which a fortune is written or a 
sentimental verse. The announcement can be 
made about the middle of the meal, when some 
one selected to do so proposes the health of the 
bride and groom elect in a little speech. Or, 
as soon as the guests are seated, a sham telegram 
may be brought in containing the announcement, 
and read aloud, or passed round the table. All 
the dishes possible should be heart-shaped, and 
all decorations should be red or pink. 

BALLS, RECEPTIONS, ETC. 

No matter how large and formal a dance 
a hostess may give, it is never called a '' ball " 
in the invitations. '' Dancing " may be put in 
the lower left-hand corner of the invitation-card. 
If the dance is given for a debutante, her card 
is generally inclosed, but this rule is not in- 
yariable. The rooms for dancing should be daz- 
zlingly lighted, and great attention must be paid 
to ventilation. The decorations may be as gay 
and beautiful, and the cotillon favors as hand- 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 29 

some, as one's purse allows. Everything in a 
ballroom should suggest light, gaiety, and beauty. 
A fancy-dress ball is perhaps the most brilliant 
social function that exists. 

Ne\^ertheless, a great many people have no 
suitable rooms in their houses for a ball, and can 
obtain no private hall of any elegance. If they 
wash to give a formal dance, they must do the 
best they can, without any particular luxury. 
The first requisite, as every dancer knows, is 
a good floor for the dancing. If this cannot be 
had at home, a hall must be engaged, and deco- 
rated in tasteful fashion. 

The hostess receives at a formal dance, whether 
it be in her own house or not, and is usually 
assisted by several friends well known in society, 
who can relieve her somewhat during the hours 
that she otherwise has to stay at her place. A 
debutante stands beside her mother at a dance 
given by her parents, and sometimes has several 
girl friends receiving with her also for the first 
half-hour. Her mother selects the first partner 
for her, and no man should dance more than once 
with the debutante on this occasion. She should 
shake hands with each person introduced, and is 
expected to dance every dance, standing at her 
place in the intervals to receive and greet the 



30 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

guests. Her girl friends, after the first half-hour 
in the receiving line, are free to dance without 
returning to receive any further. 

The host does not usually stand in line. His 
business is to see that the women all have part- 
ners, that the chaperons are all taken in to sup- 
per, and that the men do not stay in the dressing- 
rooms to smoke and talk, but do their duty as 
dancers. The hostess does not dance, if at all, 
until late in the evening, when the last guests 
have arrived and everything is going off w^ell. 
She sees to it that people are introduced, shy 
young men provided with partners, and all the 
girls are having a good time. To this end, in 
inviting, she should see to it that the men out- 
number the women by a good proportion, so that, 
if possible, there shall be no wall-flowers. 

Young men, at a private dance, should ask the 
daughters of the house to dance the first dances. 
At a cotillon, those who have not partners 
selected beforehand are given partners by the 
hostess. 

A formal reception is held either in the after- 
noon from four to seven, or in the evening from 
eight to eleven. The hostess and those who re- 
ceive with her wear no hats, but the w^omen 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 31 

guests in the afternoon wear hats, and the men 
afternoon dress. In the evening, evening dress 
is w^orn by all. An invitation to a reception 
is formally engraved, and sent a fortnight or 
ten days ahead. It should be answered within 
a week. The hostess at a reception makes what 
introductions she thinks proper, but generally 
does not try to introduce all her guests. Formal 
afternoon teas and '' at homes '^ are on the same 
lines as receptions, but are far less elaborate. 
They require only engraved card invitations, and 
the refreshments are simpler. The host seldom 
receives at either, w^hether men are invited or 
not. An invitation to an '' at home " or after- 
noon tea requires no answ^er, unless the one 
invited cannot attend, in which case a card, sent 
on the day of the affair, serves as a regret. In 
case there is a series of teas or '' at homes " a 
card is only sent when the person invited cannot 
attend any of them, and the proper time to send 
it is on the day of the last one of the series. 

The formal afternoon tea is so easy a method 
of entertaining a large number that it is becoming 
more and more popular. It requires little ex- 
penditure for food, but much care as to detail. 
Flowers, a dainty tea equipage, a novel variety 
of ices, cakes, candies, etc., are points never 



32 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

to be neglected. The sandwich, in its present 
vogue and variety, is a feature of the afternoon 
tea. White, brown, and entire wheat bread are 
all used, and every kind of filling imaginable. 
Lettuce, nut, cucumber, egg, date, celery, cheese, 
oyster, lobster, banana, ginger and orange, jelly 
and marm.alade, olives, sardines, and chicken, are 
all pressed into service. The sandwiches must 
be very small, very dainty, and always served on 
a doily in a pretty dish or plate. All sorts of 
quaint shapes can be cut with the modern cake- 
cutters. 

At any of these formal occasions — dinners, 
luncheons, receptions, etc. — music is sometimes 
used as an adjunct, but must be duly subor- 
dinated. A band, unless its music is indeed sweet 
and low, is not pleasant as an accompaniment to 
a brilliant dinner. When music is really to be 
listened to, the formal musical is the occasion 
on which to have it. The musical can be either 
from four to six in the afternoon or at any time 
in the evening. 

The large card-party is a very popular modern 
form of entertainment. It takes a good deal of 
room to set out card-tables for a number of 
people, and so rooms are often hired at a club 
or hotel for a progressive euchre party, or a game 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 33 

of hearts, or bridge. The latter is at present 
the fashionable game, and a bridge tournament 
is quite an intricate affair to manage. The host- 
ess receives her guests at a card-party, and has 
the tables arranged so that each guest can find 
his or her place. Usually a card, with the name 
written on it by the hostess, indicates each one's 
place. Score-cards, pencils, etc., are provided for 
each table. Often a written list of the main rules 
of the game, or a printed summary, is placed 
where it can easily be consulted by the players. 
A dish or two of bonbons on each table, in pretty 
silver or glass, is usually in evidence, v 

At a bridge tournament the score is not kept by 
the individual players alone, but by two or more 
official score-keepers, who come at the close of 
each round and collect the scores, keeping the 
tally as the game progresses. These score-keepers 
umpire all disputed points, and must be tactful 
and familiar with the rules. Prizes are the order 
of the day at nearly all card-parties. They 
should be, however, of no great value — merely 
dainty trifles, the winning of which causes no 
heartburnings. To have expensive prizes is a 
fatal mistake in good taste. To have none at 
all, or merely a badge for the winner, such as a 
rose or ribbon, is both good taste and good 



34 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

morals, in this day of excessive card-playing. 
One giver of charming card-parties never has 
any prizes, but at each card-table a pretty pencil, 
tied with ribbon, is placed to keep the score, and 
the one who wins carries off the pencil as a 
badge of victory. When women exult over half 
a dozen pieces of bric-a-brac or embroidery won 
as card prizes during the year, there is something 
repellent about it to fastidious minds. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 



OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENTS 

'^1 " HE most formal outdoor entertainment is, of 
course, the lawn fete, or garden-party. For 
the average requirements, ^' a green lawn, a few 
trees, a good prospect, a fine day, and something 
to eat," are enough; and even the good prospect 
and the few trees can be eliminated, if necessary, 
and a pleasant garden-party be possible on what 
IS left. 

An invitation to a large garden-party should 
be given a fortnight beforehand. If the guests 
are to come by train or trolley, a small card 
inclosed should give the train or car schedule, 
both going and returning. 

A garden-party, strictly to fulfill its name, 
should be held entirely in the open air. The 
refreshments should be served outside, and the 
guests remain out of doors. But of course the 
day may turn out a rainy one, or chilly for the 
season, and therefore it is well always to arrange 
so that things may be indoors if necessary. A 
large porch always is an advantage in this way, 
for the supper can be installed there if the clouds 
are threatening. A tent is often used in which 
35 



36 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

to serve the refreshments also. Rugs laid on 
the grass are much appreciated by elderly or 
rheumatic guests, and if they are spread in a nook 
protected by trees, and easy chairs set comfortably 
in array, the kind forethought of the hostess will 
be blessed by those who profit and enjoy. 

An orchestra is a great addition to a formal 
garden-party. It is prettier for it to be out of 
sight, and not too close to the table, or to where 
the hostess stands. However, in the open air 
music is rarely too loud to interfere with con- 
versation, and lends a charm to the natural 
beauties of the occasion. 

It is always well to have some form of outdoor 
amusement at a garden-party. Tennis, croquet, 
quoits, etc., may all be in evidence. But with 
a beautiful June day, all that most of the guests 
ask is to be out of doors and stroll about; and 
if the ladies have elaborate dresses and long skirts, 
they are rather handicapped for games, while 
short skirts are hardly the fashion for a formal 
afJair. 

FOURTH-OF-JULY PARTY 

A Fourth-of-July party can be made a most 
picturesque and patriotic affair. The flag should 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 37 

be everywhere — hung out from the house, draped 
over the porches, flying from a tall flagpole on 
the lawn. Tiny flags can be fastened on the 
standards of the tennis nets and on the croquet 
stakes. In addition to the other sports, the flag 
game may be played. Ten small flags are stuck 
into the ground in a row, ten more in another 
row a little ahead, and so on for ten rows. Ten 
players are then chosen, and at a given signal 
each starts to pluck up his or her row of flags, 
one at a time, runs across the lawn, and sticks 
each flag firmly in the ground at a designated 
separate goal. The flags must be well stuck into 
the earth, and stand upright. If they fall over 
or break, they are not counted. The player who 
gets the whole ten flags first into the ground 
at his or her goal wins the round. After 
the several sets of players have finished, the 
winners then play a final round, and the 
victorious player receives a larger flag as a 
prize. 

The refreshments can be, to some extent, red, 
white, and blue — blocks of strawberry and vanilla 
ice-cream, sprinkled with candied violets; cakes 
iced in the three colors and mingled together^ 
and candies arranged in the same way. The table 
may have a wide blue ribbon down the center, 



38 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

and a bank of red geraniums for a centerpiece. 
After supper, the Declaration of Independence 
may be read from the porch, patriotic songs sung 
to guitar or mandolin, and the fireworks are 
in order in the twilight. Some patriotic owners 
of handsome country places give such a Fourth- 
of-July party to their friends every year, as an 
established custom. 



A CHINESE FEAST 

A Chinese feast is a good outdoor idea for 
midsummer evenings. The porch and garden- 
paths are hung with Chinese lanterns, and the 
lights covered with red and yellow shades. 
Chinese incense-sticks add a perfum.e by their 
slow burning. Fan-tan, played at small tables, 
is an appropriate game. For refreshments, tea, 
of course, is served, with tiny rice-cakes, nut 
sandwiches, chop-suey if possible, preserved figs, 
candied ginger, and any Chinese nuts or con- 
fections that the stores furnish. A fan-drill on 
the porch, by four or six girls in Chinese costume, 
is given, and each guest receives a little Chinese 
fan, with the date written on it, as a souvenir. 
Firecrackers on the lawn are entirely appropriate, 
and other Chinese fireworks. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 39 



FLOWER-PARTY 

A flower-party is suitable for garden or porch 
parties for young people. The hostess, in in- 
viting each girl, should ask her to come dressed 
to represent some flower, and to bring a verse 
or quotation describing the flower she personifies. 
Care must be taken to get all the flowers differ- 
ent. As each girl arrives, the verse she brings is 
put with the others on a tray, and each young man 
in turn draws from the tray, and sets out in 
search of the flower described. Supper is served 
at little tables for two, scattered about the 
grounds, or on the porches, each table decorated 
with a special flower. For those flowers not 
in season, paper or artificial flowers have to be 
used. A dance winds up the evening, or an 
impromptu concert on the porch, with banjo or 
mandolin accompaniment, and chorus-singing by 
the guests. 

LAWN-HUNTS 

Lawn-hunts are very pleasant affairs for chil- 
dren's parties and young people, and can be of 
innumerable kinds. For a contest-hunt, for ex- 
ample, dozens of pieces of white note-paper, 



40 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

each with a question of some kind, are hidden 
all over the lawn, in the bushes, the hedges, 
the rustic seats, the flower-borders — ever^^vhere. 
Some of them have flower-quotations on them, 
with a request for the author's name ; some have a 
bit of bark or a leaf wrapped up in them, and 
a demand for its source and name; some have 
the name of a tune, and request the finder to 
sing it, and so on. The one who finds the 
most papers, and answers them correctly, w^ins a 
prize. 

The peanut-hunt, as its name im.plies, calls for 
any quantity of peanuts. Some are wrapped in 
blue tissue-paper, some in pink, some in white, 
and then they are hidden all over the lawn, the 
blue ones always in the hardest places. The 
hunter who finds the most blue-wrapped pea- 
nuts gets the prize. 

A heart-hunt needs dozens of little red card- 
board hearts, to be hidden about the lawn. A 
dozen slightly larger ones are cut irregularly in 
half, and the halves hidden not too near each 
other. Each player finding a plain heart counts 
one; any player finding the two halves of a 
larger heart, which fit together rightly, counts 
twenty, and the one counting highest wins a 
prize. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 41 

With any of these hunts, a good addition is 
a gypsy-tent on the lawn, where a girl clever 
in palmistry tells fortunes after the hunt is over. 
The supper should be served on the lawn on 
little tables, and should be simple, as ice-cream, 
cake, and lemonade, or salad, sandwiches, and 
chocolate. 



EVENING LAWN-RECEPTION 

An evening lawn-reception is pretty, and is a 
pleasant way of celebrating summer wedding anni- 
versaries. The grounds are lighted by Japanese 
lanterns, little electric lamps in colors, or fairy- 
lamps. Benches or chairs are set under the trees 
in groups or pairs, and there is music either 
on the porch or in the grounds. The house 
may be open, if the music is on the porch, 
for the younger people to go in and dance, if 
they are so inclined. The supper is served 
out of doors, or indoors, as convenient; and if 
outdoors, should be cold, consisting of sand- 
wiches, salad, ices, strawberries, cake, lemonade, 
or coffee, or any selection of these, if all are not 
desired. 



42 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

A NAMING-PARTY 

A naming-party is very good fun where the 
grounds have a variety of plants, shrubs, and 
flowers. This is an afternoon affair, and the 
guests are formed into two sides, chosen alter- 
nately by the leaders, one of whom should be a 
man and the other a woman. A referee, with 
some knowledge of botany, is necessary. Each 
side then makes a circuit round the lawn, com- 
mencing at different points, and naming every 
shrub, tree, and flower in turn, making a written 
list as they go. After the circuits are made, 
both sides meet on the porch, and the lists are 
compared, the referee deciding which side is right 
in a case of disagreement, or whether both are 
wrong, even if they agree. The losing side wait 
upon the winners at the supper-table, and must 
give them a picnic in the woods later. 

BARN-PARTY 

It IS a question whether a barn-party comes 
under the head of outdoor entertainments; but 
certainly it cannot be called a house affair. A 
new barn is usually the scene of such entertain- 
ments. The stalls are trimmed with flowers, and 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 43 

tables sometimes set in them. The floor is 
scrubbed, and used for dancing, or old-fashioned 
games can be played. A dairy-supper is appro- 
priate, of creamed potatoes, chicken salad or 
creamed chicken, cottage cheese, cream puffs, ice- 
cream, cream cake, milk and buttermilk, and with 
milking-stools for the guests to sit on. 

PICNICS 

Leaving one's own lawn out of the question, 
there are endless ways of having a picnic some- 
where else. A maying-party is about the earliest 
possible of these, and it is well to wait until 
the middle of the month, unless the weather is 
unusually comfortable. The luncheon can be 
provided by the hostess or brought by the guests. 
Perhaps the best way is for the hostess to provide 
the essentials of it — cold chicken, sandwiches, 
cake, and coffee or lemonade, and ask each guest 
to bring a '^ mystery '^ package. Something a 
little unusual in the edible line, sufficient for 
two or three persons, should be wrapped neatly 
in oiled paper, or packed in a tiny covered basket, 
and brought. The guessing, when lunch-time 
comes, as to what is in the packages, and the 
sampling of them with picnic appetites, adds 



44 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

greatly to the fun. A maying-party can tramp 
after the wild flowers, or go part or all of the 
way in wagons or carriages. The hostess may 
provide these, or the guests may prefer to drive 
themselves. 

A Fourth-of-July picnic, of course, must be 
patriotic. Those giving it should hang flags and 
bunting upon the trees and rocks of the place 
chosen. The table, even if spread only on the 
grass, should have little stacks of tiny flags stand- 
ing at intervals on it, and a broad strip of red, 
white, and blue dovv^n the middle. If arranged 
with boards laid on boxes or barrels, it can be 
trimmed more elaborately. A large flag, hung 
against wall or rock, with a square of blue cloth 
basted over the stars, furnishes a chance for a 
game like the famous donkey-party. Give each 
guest a white cotton cloth or paper star and a 
pin, blindfold him, turn him round twace, head 
him for the flag, and tell him to pin the star 
in place. Fireworks are in order, of course, and 
the reading of the Declaration and singing of 
" America '' and '' The Star-Spangled Banner.'* 

SURPRISE PICNIC 

A surprise picnic is a good idea. The giver 
invites people for an afternoon drive, with no 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 45 

mention of supper, and either pretends to get 
lost or finds the place farther away on the road, 
apparently, than had been supposed. The wagons 
drive on, and everybody begins to feel hungry 
and far from home, when suddenly the leader 
turns in at some unexpected place, and there is 
a table, ready laid, with hot coffee, sandwiches, 
salad, cake, and other good things waiting, and 
cushions and rugs on the grass. The hostess 
must, of course, have a capable member of the 
household, or reliable servant, to have all this 
arranged and ready just on time, as its charm 
lies entirely in its impromptu perfection. 

tete-A-t]6te picnic 

A tete-a-tete picnic has great charms. As 
many baskets should be packed by the hostess as 
there are couples, and tied prettily with ribbons. 
Each girl is given one of these baskets, and each 
young man a pencil or a napkin tied w^ith corre- 
sponding ribbons. By matching ribbons, the 
couples are sorted out at luncheon. In this way 
the partners can be carefully matched beforehand 
by the hostess, or left to chance, as she pleases. In 
each basket are two or three kinds of sandwiches, 
mayonnaise, cucumber, egg, nut, lettuce, or 



46 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

chicken; a little jar of salad or some broiled 
chicken wrapped in waxed paper. Cake and ice- 
cream and lemonade or coffee should be taken, 
for all, by the hostess. Mottoes, packed in the 
baskets, add to the fun. If it is desired to 
change partners after luncheon, or going home, 
make a heap on a rock of tw^o flowers of the same 
kind, two bits of bark, two stones, and so on. 
Let each guest draw from the heap and pair 
off with the one holding the duplicate. 

OPEN-AIR VAUDEVILLE PICNIC 

An open-air vaudeville picnic can be made a 
brilliant success. Two requisites are necessary: 
a manager who can think up stage charades, light 
plays, monologues, etc., in the open air, and 
guests who will take the parts well. Mono- 
logues, violin and guitar music brought in, flower 
or fan drills, are all charming in open-air 
vaudeville. Nothing long or ambitious should be 
attempted — only bright trifles. The guests can 
regale themselves from the lunch-baskets between 
the '' turns,'' or have luncheon before or after 
the performance, as the hostess pleases. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 47 

CLAMBAKE, ETC. 

A clambake or chowder-party is never out of 
fashion. The fire requires an expert to prepare, 
and the ingredients of bake or chowder are pre- 
scribed by local rule, and differ in different 
places. Long Island and the New England coast 
hold the palm. An expert being secured, the 
hostess should convey her guests by boat, wagon, 
or trolley to the shore, and give them a sail 
if they enjoy it, or a chance to fish, before the 
bake or chowder is served. An afternoon clam- 
bake, with a moonlight sail or ride home, is 
especially enjoyable. 

CORN-ROAST 

A corn-roast is one of the most enjoyable of 
outdoor entertainments for a summer twilight. 
A big fire of wood is built upon a hill or in 
some picturesque open spot. A lot of long, tough 
sticks are cut, like fishing-rods, but sharpened 
to a point, and green, so that they will not catch 
fire easily. Numberless fine ears of the juiciest 
corn are then shucked and piled at one side. 
When the guests arrive, the fire should be clear 
and deep, a bed of glowing embers. Each guest 



48 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

is given an ear of corn and shown how to impale 
it on the tough green stake; then he or she must 
roast it at the fire. When it is done, it w^ill 
be black and sizzling, but delicious. Salt, pepper, 
and butter are provided on picnic-plates, and 
the guests eat their corn in true al fresco style, 
and always want more. Apples are roasted as a 
dessert, and hot coffee can be served with sand- 
wiches. Then, as the fire dies down, the merry 
feasters dance round it, trampling it out; or, as 
in a fagot-party, each guest may be required to 
fling a tiny fagot on the embers and either tell 
a story, sing a song, or do some other ^^ stunt '' 
till it is entirely consumed. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 



CHILDREN'S PARTIES 

TT is an easy thing, because of their responsive- 
ness, to afford a happy time for children. A 
few merry games, a light supper, a trifling 
souvenir, and off they go, truthfully assuring their 
hostess of having had *' a splendid time." 

For very little tots, from two to five-thirty 
in the afternoon, or three to six, is the best time 
for a party. For children from five to twelve, 
four to eight o'clock. For the latter, supper 
should be served shortly after their arrival. The 
tiny tots' invitations are, of course, written by 
mamma, but children of a larger growth appre- 
ciate an invitation much more when written in 
the large, round, painstaking hand of the boy or 
girl giving the party, supervised by an elder, 
yet retaining the turn of expression natural to a 
child. 

At these parties the hostess stands in the back- 
ground, cordially seconding the w^elcome first 
extended to the guests by her little son or daugh- 
ter. Half an hour is allowed for assembling — 
music, or a *' round " game filling up the interim 
before supper is announced. After supper come 
49 



50 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

the games. At such parties many of the games 
described under the head of ^^ Indoor Games " 
afford the children great amusement, and some 
of them are also instructive. 

A dolls' party 

The invitations for this entertainment, w^ritten 
on '' Tom Thumb '^ paper, request the little girls 
to bring their dolls with them. This is essen- 
tially a girls' party, but boys can be included, 
adding to the fun by bringing rag dolls dressed 
as sailors, policemen, soldiers, etc. The ugliest 
doll will be displayed by the little hostess, whose 
tricks and experiences she will relate in a manner 
calculated to excite laughter and set the ball of 
chatter rolling. The boys, not to be left out in 
the talk, wuU have wonderful stories to tell of 
the doings and sayings of their respective dolls 
also. March is an appropriate time for such 
parties, as in flowery Japan the Feast of the Doll 
occurs in that month. That fact allows wide 
scope for decorations and costumes. A pretty 
idea would be to issue the invitations on cards 
or tiny note-paper bearing the picture of a Jap- 
anse maiden, requesting the little guests to come 
attired in like manner. This can be easily done, 
and cheaply. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 51 

For souvenirs, small Japanese fans, lanterns, 
dolls, etc. 



BIRTHDAY PARTY 

In honor of a child's birthday, the rooms 
should be made as festal as possible, with the 
birthday flower given great prominence. It is 
customary for the little guests to bring a trifling 
gift for their comrade, but some parents forbid 
this apparent price of hospitality. 

The birthday cake at such a party holds the 
place of honor. Around the edge of this, in small 
tin holders, are arranged a number of candles, one 
for each year of the child's life. These candles 
are blown out by the little guests, each in turn 
making a secret wish in the interest of the 
'' birthday '' girl or boy. A wreath of flowers, 
or knotted ribbons, hide the tin holders. Often 
the candles are omitted, the icing of the cake 
representing the face of a clock, the hour-hand 
pointing to the number indicating the child's age. 
In this cake are baked the regulation ring, coin, 
and thimble, if the boy or girl guests are over 
ten years of age; if younger, a simple gift for 
each is found in his slice. Again, the birthday 
cake contains no surprises, but instead a Jack 



52 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

Horner pie, covered with paper crust and frills 
to conceal the gifts within, is brought in and 
deposited upon the table. Each present is 
w^rapped in tissue-paper and tied with ribbon, 
red, say, for boys, blue for girls ; the ends appear- 
ing outside of the pie. ^^ One, two, three," counts 
the hostess ; all pull simultaneously, and each child 
finds a gift at the end of his ribbon. Simple 
games follow. 

A VALENTINE PARTY 

For each child invited, have ready a pretty 
valentine containing the childish message, '^ I 
love you," written, if possible, and signed by 
the child or children giving the party. Inclose 
these in envelopes sealed with red wax, heart- 
shaped. As each little guest arrives, the hostess 
gives him or her a paper heart on which is written 
the name of a bird ; these are duplicates, the little 
boys each holding one corresponding to a girl's. 
After a merry game, such as drop the handker- 
chief, comes a loud peal of the door-bell. A 
postman is admitted carrying a post-bag over his 
shoulder. He stands in the hall, and inquires in 
a loud voice if Miss Bluebird lives there. The 
child answering to the name, in much astonish- 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 53 

ment, responds. ^^ I have a letter for you," says 
the postman; '' come here and get it." She does 
so, and receives her valentine. Mr. Goldfinch, 
Mrs. Bluejay, etc., follow, till half the guests 
have received a valentine. Then the postman 
shoulders his bag and leaves, to the m.anifest dis- 
appointment of the other little ones. Another 
round game, a lull, and again the door-bell 
rings loudly. It is the postman, who in like 
manner distributes the other valentines, m^aking 
all the birds happy. 

AN EASTER-RABBIT PARTY 

Children under ten will be delighted with an 
invitation to a party to be given on Easter 
Saturday or Easter Monday, by the Easter Rab- 
bit, who, as everybody knows, brings the Easter 
eggs. Have little rabbits painted or sketched on 
the note-paper, and have the hour not later than 
eleven in the morning. Get one of the large 
German paper rabbits to act as host, and let each 
little guest be taken up and presented to him 
with great formality. Let some one tell a fairy- 
story in which the rabbit and the eggs figure 
largely, and then, because there is nothing incon- 
gruous between innocent fun and real religion, 



54 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

let the children sing one or two Easter carols. 
Then tell the little ones that the rabbit has made 
a nest apiece for them, and let the hunt begin. 
If space and weather permit, let the nests be 
placed in the ground, under bushes. In plats of 
excelsior, place little baskets or wooden trenchers 
filled with fern-leaves, holding three or four 
gaily colored eggs. No child is allowed more 
than one nest, and when all are supplied, the 
merry party, carrying the nests and singing a 
carol, march into the dining-room. In the middle 
of the table a huge tray, sprinkled with sand, is 
fenced in by wire netting, and here are placed half 
a dozen downy little chicks, ** the best of all the 
party." Small paper rabbits and the yellow 
chickens and ducks, obtainable at every confec- 
tioner's at Eastertide, stand at each plate. Sugar- 
cakes, cut in egg shapes, and frosted with white 
and chocolate frosting; egg-shaped ices or blanc- 
manges, egg-shaped bonbons, are then served, and 
as the children say good-by, to each one a bunch 
of the real Easter flower, the daffodil,, is given. 

MAY-DAY PARTY 

A Maypole should be erected in the open, if 
possible; but should the weather prove unfavor- 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 55 

able, it may be set up in a large room, a box, 
heavily weighted, taking the place of ground. If 
out of doors, the pole should be ten feet high 
and six inches thick at the base. Within a foot 
of the top, four-yard lengths of ribbon, of two 
harmonizing colors, should be fastened, flowers 
wreathed about this place and about the foot of 
the pole, the gay streamers of ribbon floating as 
a pennon from the top. For a while the children 
engage in their well-beloved plays, '' Ring around 
a rosie," '^ Oats, peas, beans," etc; then the May 
Queen is chosen, each child writing the name of 
a preferred one on a slip of paper. To the 
throne — a wicker chair profusely garlanded — the 
one elected is with much ceremony duly con- 
ducted, the little host or hostess repeating, when 
crowning the queen: 

** Flossie, we hail thee as Queen of the May ! 
Our love bring as tribute, and bow to thy sway.** 

The queen's herald, a lad dressed picturesquely 
to fit the part, his trumpet gaily bedecked with 
ribbons, now announces that the queen is about 
to choose her court. With a wreath of flowers 
(paper will do) she crowns each little girl 
who bows before her, bestowing upon her the 
name of the flower composing her wreath, the boys 



56 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

receiving a duplicate flower for hat or coat, also a 
short stick with a bunch of ribbon attached, match- 
ing the color of their ribbon on the May-pole, the 
herald, with flourish of trumpet, proclaiming the 
name of each boy as he bows before the queen. 

The dance around the pole is now in order, 
the folly-bells on the bo3's' sticks lending addi- 
tional liveliness to the scene. 

MISS Columbia's tea-party 

This Fourth-of-July party should be arranged 
for a sunset tea on the lawn, the little ones 
to remain for an exhibition of fireworks. Bunt- 
ing is everywhere, of course, and there should be 
stirring music appropriate to the day. The host- 
ess is dressed to represent Columbia, and a number 
of boys are in soldier costume of the period of 
the Revolution. Paper cocked hats can be pro- 
vided for all in the march which will take place, 
headed by two Revolutionary urchins with fife 
and drum. A recitation on the veranda of *^ Paul 
Revere's Ride," or any other selection breathing 
of patriotism, will be in order for the day. Toy 
drums and cannon filled with candies, toy sabers, 
and muskets, are given for souvenirs, and a suit- 
able prize for the one w^ho best enacts his part. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 57 

CHRISTMAS PARTIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS 

The poetic myth of Santa Claus, fat and jolly,, 
with his reindeer and jingling bells, his bulging 
pack of toys and candy-boxes, has charmed the 
children of many generations, and will, we hope, 
continue to for many more. 

If an elaborate setting for a Christmas enter- 
tainment is required for young children, cover the 
walls of the room in which they assemble with 
white cheese-cloth moistened with gum arabic 
(using brush or sponge) and powdered well with 
mica dust. Pile furniture in corners and cover 
with same, suggesting snowdrifts; small evergreen 
trees, placed here and there, may be trimmed with 
balls of cotton batting, also frosted, and jagged 
bits of combed-out cotton for icicles hang from 
various points, sprinkled heavily with the dust. 
Screens covered with sheets, to which sprays 
of greens are attached, also help to lend an air 
of fairyland to the room. This is the 

HOME OF SANTA CLAUS 

Open the entertainment with music, drifting 
into a Christmas hymn in which they can all join, 
followed by a recitation of '' The Night Before 
Christmas " by the little hostess, dressed as a 



58 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

fairy, if she can be trained to the part. Now 
let silence fall upon the company, broken by 
some one saying " Sh-h." A bell is heard to 
ring loudly; a telegraph messenger is admitted, 
who announces that Santa Claus has been de- 
layed — a slippery roof, smoking chimney, fire 
down town, or any cause that comes to m.ind. 
This has a pronounced effect upon the very 
young children. After the buzz has subsided, 
again comes the warning ^' Sh-h." Sleigh-bells 
are now heard in the distance ; nearer and nearer 
they come; a bustle at the door; in comes Santa, 
pulling a sleigh on which is a huge snowball 
sparkling with diamond-dust frost, as are his hair 
and whiskers. This snowball is made of several 
ordinary wooden hoops, one inside the other to 
form a sphere, over which muslin is fastened, 
and then cotton batting lightly tacked. An open- 
ing is left in the muslin, through which Santa i 
Claus, with many a quip and jest, brings forth) 
a gift for each child. Sleigh-bells announce sup- 
per. In the center of the table is a Christmas 
tree trimmed with tinsel, upon the branches ofi 
which hang candies and small toys. After sup- 
per have a circle game or two, a dance, and — 
home. 

Or, decorate the room simply with branches of 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 59 

evergreen and holly, and have It lighted only by 
candles and the glow of an open fire. After 
all are assembled, the mother of the little girl 
or boy who gives the party tells the children 
slowly and distinctly the legend of the Christ- 
mas stocking; of how good Saint Nicholas, 
overtaken by a storm one Christmas eve, took 
refuge in a convent, preaching to the gentle 
nuns, after supper, a wonderful sermon. They 
begged him to come again the following year at 
the same time. He did so, but, before retiring, 
asked each nun to give him a stocking. In 
the morning, to their great delight, each stocking 
was found filled with sugar-plums. In this way 
Saint Nicholas requited the nuns for their hos- 
pitality. The legend can be amplified and made 
very interesting to the children, picturing Saint 
Nicholas on the road, knocking at the gate, etc. 
In the silence that ensues, the door-bell rings 
loudly. A messenger enters with a package. 
Santa Claus is detained, but hopes to get around 
later. The hostess opens the package and dis- 
closes stockings of all sizes and colors within. 
Each child is given one, and his or her name, and 
the gift desired, are written and pinned upon 
it before he or she fastens it to the mantel. A 
childish game is played, then supper is announced. 



6o ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

At intervals, noise as of something coming down 
the chimney is heard. When all return to the 
parlor, there stands Santa Claus, his whiskers, 
hair, and cloak marred with soot. In the mean- 
time the stockings have been filled, positions 
changed, and a general *^ mix-up " has taken 
place. Santa makes a humorous speech ; the chil- 
dren join hands and dance around him; then 
he bids them find their several stockings. A 
lively time ensues. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 



ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OLDER BOYS 
AND GIRLS 

NEW year's eve 

TT has long been a custom to open wide the 
house-door the eve of January first, and with 
great formality take leave of the departing year 
and merrily greet the new. A little before twelve 
o'clock, as the guests invited for the evening are 
at table, the dining-room door opens, and on the 
threshold stands an old man with flowing white 
beard and hair, a scythe over his shoulder, and 
in his hand an hour-glass, the last grain of sand 
about to fall. The clock strikes twelve ; his head 
falls upon his breast; a sigh, a wave of his hand 
in farewell, and the Old Year departs, a tiny, 
golden-haired boy, robed in white and garlanded 
with flowers, taking his place, while unseen mu- 
sicians sing: 

' ' Ring out the old, ring in the new ; 
Ring, happy bells, across the snow! 
The year is going, let him go ; 
Ring out the false, ring in the true ! *' 

6i 



62 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

Toasts are then drunk to the New Year, more 
song and music are enjoyed, and all, before de- 
parting, sing '' Auld Lang Syne." 

A LEAF-PARTY 

Upon your cards of invitation for a New 
Year's party sketch, or paste, a leaf — natural 
or paper — requesting the recipients to come and 
help you turn over some new leaves. Have pre- 
pared a book for each guest — large sheets of 
wanting paper between pasteboard covers deco- 
rated with a leaf — which a little boy represent- 
ing the New" Year may distribute. The pages 
of the book are headed first by ^^ Your faults: 
mention some of them." " What resolutions 
did you make last year? How many did you 
keep?" On the last page, ''Good Resolutions 
for 19 — ." The directions are not taken seri- 
ously, of course, and when the books are col- 
lected by the golden-haired '' New Year " and 
delivered to the hostess, who reads the confessions 
aloud, much laughter ensues, particularly if there 
be a few wits among the company. As the pages 
are unsigned, now comes a guessing contest as; 
to their authors, the one guessing the great-- 
est number correctly winning a prize — a pretty 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 63 

clock, hour-glass, paper-weight, calendar, diary, 
etc. 

A clever hostess can see many possibilities in 
an affair of this kind, each guest, for instance, 
passing his book to his right-hand neighbor, a 
girl who, without glancing at the previous pages, 
must write the '' Good Resolutions," the feminine 
resolves following the male's peccadillos and vice 
versaj affording a very funny climax. Upon their 
entrance guests may be given leaves of different 
colors, to be pinned on corsage and coat, the 
young men in this way finding their partners 
for the evening. Music and dancing enter into 
an entertainment of this kind, or tests for telling 
the future. 

LEAP-YEAR DANCE OR PARTY 

In only one year out of four does the oppor- 
tunity occur for young folks to enjoy the pecu- 
liar privileges accorded them at leap-year. The 
dance, or party, may be given any time through 
the year, though December 31 and February 29 
are favorite dates. At these parties the young 
women defray all the expenses of the evening, 
issue the invitations, individually, requesting the 
pleasure of Mr. So-and-So's company to the dance 



64 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

or party, sending him by messenger, on the event- 
ful evening, a huge comic bouquet wrapped in 
many sheets of tissue-paper. A carriage is some- 
times engaged by the young woman to call for 
the invited one, or, better, by two young women, 
for their guests. 

At the hall or house the young men congre- 
gate, and act as near like bashful, unsophisticated 
maidens as they can, kissing one another raptu- 
rously as they meet, holding one another's hands, 
etc., the young women at the same time walking 
about and aping manners masculine. Presently 
the men find seats, and the young women, loun- 
ging about the door, solicit introductions of the 
floor-manager, and of each other, and try to get 
their partners' programmes agreeably filled. At 
supper, the young men sit still and are w^aited 
upon laboriously by the fair maids. Favors for 
the cotillon may include chocolate cigars, pack- 
ages of candy cigarettes, German pipes, and 
steins for the young women; housewives, candy 
scissors, buttons, hair-ribbons, etc., for the young 
men. The especial privileges of the evening 
cease when the time for leaving comes. The 
young ladies are escorted home in the usual man- 
ner. 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 65 

Hallowe'en 

Of all the informal festival occasions of the 
year, none are so merry and unconstrained as 
All-hallow eve, or the eve of All Saints' day. 
On this night, according to time-honored leg- 
ends, fairies dance, witches ride, and ghosts 
walk. It is a night when charms read truly 
and future events are dimly shadowed forth. 
The practice of lighting bonfires on the 31st 
of October is a relic of the druids, who 
annually rekindled their altar-fires on that 
night. 

For a future party, decorate the rooms with 
cornstalks, red and yellow ears of corn, pumpkin 
lanterns, bunches of wheat or other grains, bowls 
of apples, oranges, and nuts. Have ready for 
each guest half a walnut-shell in which is fas- 
tened a small candle, or a taper made of melted 
beeswax and heavy cotton string. In a tub of 
water, representing the sea of life, these little 
craft are launched. If a taper burns steadily 
out without mishap, it augurs well for the owner ; 
if it floats alongside another for a considerable 
time, the lives of the owners will be much inter- 
twined ; if it bumps another, a quarrel will ensue ; 
if it sticks close to the sides of the tub, the 



66 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

owner will never see foreign parts, and so on. 
The hostess, as oracle, knowing or suspecting 
the predilections one for another of her guests, 
can help on the tide of courtship, or interpret 
the movements of the boats as absurdly as she 
wills. 

For a fishing-party, invite the masculine guests 
to bring their fishing-tackle. They will respond 
with an elaborate outfit, probably, materially 
adding to the fun. For the ladies, rods have 
been provided, with ribbons of various colors 
for lines, to which are attached rather blunt- 
pointed hooks. In one corner of the room, behind 
a tall screen, decorated appropriately, sits the 
hostess, innumerable small articles in a basket 
beside her. A young man casts his line over the 
screen, asking Fate to direct his hook in catching 
something indicative of his future state. Fate — 
the hostess — recognizes the voice, and affixes to 
the hook a simpering bisque doll, indicating a 
frivolous wife for him; another fishes up a sock 
in bad need of darning, indicating bachelorhood ; 
another a picture of Mr. Henpeck cut out of a 
comic paper, and so on. One girl catches a 
thimble, suggestive of spinsterhood ; another a 
tea-cozy, or black cat; another a purse with 
naught but a rose in it, promising love and 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 67 

poverty; another with literary aspirations, a 
wreath of green leaves. 



HUNT FOR FORTUNE 

Another Hallowe'en party may be entitled a 
hunt for fortune. The guests are invited to 
appear in ghostly attire, which means sheets and 
pillow-cases, white gloves and white masks, each 
carrying a hideous jack-o'-lantern in his hand. 
As they arrive, the hostess, enjoining silence, 
motions them to the parlor, where they must 
endeavor, without speech, to discover each other's 
identity. When one has been discovered he must 
unmask. After unmasking, the names of the 
girls are placed in a hat, the boys draw, and 
thus they find partners for the evening. Now 
begins the hunt. Here and there about the room 
knots of red and yellow ribbon are visible, to 
which two threads are attached; couples follow 
these threads, upstairs, downstairs, everywhere, 
each coming at last to a scroll, those for the boys 
tied with red ribbon, those for the girls with 
yellow. Then they reassemble, and the fortunes 
of each hunter and his partner are read aloud. 

This may be followed by bite the apple, which 
never fails to create great fun. For this, a stick 



68 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

two feet in length is suspended horizontally from 
the ceiling, an apple stuck on one end and a 
small bag of sand or flour on the other. The 
string is twisted so that the stick revolves rapidly, 
and the boys and girls, with hands tied behind 
them, take turns in running up and trying for 
a bite of the apple, securing more blows from 
the bag than bites of the apple. 

Other tests familiar to All-hallow eve ob- 
servers are the three saucers, one containing pure 
water, one soapy water, and the other empty. 
Blindfolded, a young man is led up to these 
and told to dip his hand into one. If he touches 
the clear water, he will marry a young girl; 
if the soapy, a widow ; if the empty saucer, he will 
not marry at all. 

For the hickory-nut test two nuts are placed 
before an open fire, one named for the girl who 
makes the test, the other for the lad she admires. 
If the nut named for her chosen one jumps 
toward her own, he will propose before the year 
is out; if it burns brightly, the marriage will 
be a happy one. 

Then there is the mirror test, in which the 
lovelorn maiden goes down the cellar steps back- 
ward, mirror in hand, hoping to see her future 
husband's face reflected in the glass; and the' 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 69 

apple-paring test, too well known to need de- 
scription. 

Bobbing for apples is also old, but great fun. 
Bring in a big washtub, half full of water, and 
set it on the floor, preferably the kitchen floor, 
where the best Hallowe'en sports should be; 
provide gingham aprons for the guests to tie 
around their necks, and bid them kneel around 
the tub. Then launch a number of rosy apples, 
one for each guest, with the guest's initials 
carved in the skin. Let three bob at a time — 
three girls or three boys — and their efforts to 
catch with their mouths (their hands must be 
tied) the apples bearing the initials they like best 
will result in hilarious fun. 

Another amusement may be provided by filling 
a bowl that holds about a quart with flour. 
Put it in loosely at first, and drop a heavy gold 
ring in with it; then pack the flour in as tight 
as possible and turn it out, molded, onto a plate. 
The guests form a ring around this plate on the 
table, and one by one approach the flour mold, and 
carefully cut with a dinner-knife a slice from it. 
The one who touches the ring in cutting, however 
lightly, will knock the mold to pieces, and he 
must stoop over, his hands behind him, and 
extract the ring with his teeth. 



70 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

CHRISTMAS FOR YOUTHS AND ELDERS 

Christmas day was for many centuries kept 
as a holy day, and what we ordinarily call the 
" holiday " phase of it was observed on January 
6, or Twelfth-night, the anniversary of the 
three kings' arrival bringing royal gifts to the 
Child. Later, religious observance began to be 
confined -' to the morning service on Christmas 
day, and merrymaking to mark the afternoon 
and evening. Roman Saturnalia, druidical rites, 
German folklore, all have contributed, along w^ith 
the Gospel narrative, to our present-day Christ- 
mas observances. 

An interesting thing to do when one has a 
houseful of young people to entertain is to separate 
the hodgepodge of Christmas customs into dis- • 
tinct national ceremonials, and have an Old! 
English Christmas, a Moravian Christmas, a Ger- • 
man Christmas, etc. 

On one occasion, when an old-time English 
Christmas was revived, the menu cards at dinner 
were printed in Old English text and surmounted 
by a paper doll dressed in medieval English cos- 
tume, the head a photograph or drawing of the 
guest whose place is designated. Wax tapers, 
in candlesticks of brass, iron, and pewter, lent 



THE ART OF ENTERTAINING 71 

additional beauty to the highly polished table, 
whereon a huge boar's head, made of dough, 
rested on a platter in the center. This was 
presently lifted, disclosing a little pig roasted 
to a turn, the traditional apple in his mouth; 
a turkey, masquerading as ye royal bird, graced 
one end of the board. The huge wassail-cup was 
passed around and partaken of by all, though it 
contained something far milder than the brew 
or ale, or steaming punch. A plum pudding two 
years old and a huge mince pie w^ound up the 
feast. After dinner the guests repaired to the 
parlor, where mistletoe hung from unexpected 
places, and while a Yule lo-g, brought in with 
much ceremony, furnished with the candles, the 
only light, a company of mummers entered for 
their entertainment. 

In a Christmas observance to-day the mum- 
mers may costume in any ancient way, represent 
any character suitable to the occasion, and do 
any " stunts '' of which they are capable. They 
may adhere closely to the stately spirit of the old 
times, or may combine grand impersonations with 
nonsensical acts; for instance. Sir Roger de 
Coverley may lead in the dance bearing his name, 
or he and a girl costumed in white robes and 
holly may do a cake-walk, or other obviously 



72 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

grotesque thing, for the. amusement of the party. 
The singing of old Christmas carols and a dance 
wind up the evening. 

A German Christmas, with its pretty customs, 
IS the proper environment for Santa Claus, the 
Yule log, the Christmas tree, and many other 
observances which have been so long borrowed 
from the Germans that it is sometimes hard to 
trace their origin. The Moravians (a religious 
sect, of whom many are found in Pennsylvania) 
have a little corner of each house devoted at 
Christmas to a diminutive representation of the 
Nativity, with rocks and trees of Palestine, the 
inn at Bethlehem, the manger, sheep, shepherds, 
etc. Households vie pleasantly with each other 
over the completeness of their representation, and 
when a new feature is added to it, the delight 
is the same as other households know when new 
ornaments are discerned among the familiar 
trinkets on the Christmas tree. 



HOME PASTIMES 



HOME PASTIMES 



INDOOR GAMES 

THE minister's CAT 

nPHIS game is very similar to that of *^ I love 
my love." Each of the players must de- 
scribe the minister's cat, going right through the 
alphabet to do so. " The minister's cat is an 
angry cat," says one; '^ an anxious cat," says 
another; and so on until every one has used an 
adjective beginning with ''A." Then they take 
the " B's." '' The minister's cat is a big cat," 
and so on. The leader of the game must see 
that no one hesitates for a word. If any one 
should take longer than half a minute he must 
pay a forfeit. 

WHO IS HE? 

One of the players describes some celebrated 

person by giving four traits in his character, 

personal appearance, etc. For instance, he could 

say: ** He is a man of wonderful energy, wears 

73 



74 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

eye-glasses, shows remarkable teeth, and is an 
exponent of muscular statesmanship.'^ The audi- 
ence would have little difficulty in recognizing 
Theodore Roosevelt. The players are only al- 
lowed one guess each, for every other guess they 
must pay a forfeit. 

TWENTY QUESTIONS 

One person goes out of the room and the rest 
of the players choose a subject which he must 
guess by asking not more than twenty questions. 
If he cannot guess it he must pay a forfeit and 
go out of the room again; but if he guesses cor- 
rectly he receives a good mark for every question 
under the twenty which he might have asked. 
For instance, if he guesses the subject after asking 
ten questions he receives ten marks; if he has 
asked fifteen questions he receives five good marks. 
The player who receives the greatest number of 
good marks has won the game, and receives the 
prize if one is given. 

CROSS QUESTIONS AND CROOKED ANSWERS 

To play this game it is best to sit in a circle, 
and until the end of the game no one must speak 
above a whisper. 



HOME PASTIMES 75 

The first player whispers a question to his 
neighbor, such as, '' Do you like roses? " This 
question now belongs to the second player, and 
he must remember it. 

The second player answers, ^' Yes, they smell 
so sweet," and this answer belongs to the first 
player. The second player now asks his neighbor 
a question, taking care to remember the answer, 
as it will belong to him. Perhaps he has asked 
his neighbor, ''Are you fond of potatoes?" 
And the answer may have been, '^ Yes, when they 
are fried ! " So that the second player has now 
a question and an answer belonging to him, which 
he must remember. 

The game goes on till every one has been 
asked a question and given an answer, and each 
player must be sure to bear in mind that it is 
the question he is asked, and the answer his 
neighbor gives, which belong to him. 

At the end of the game each gives his question 
and answer aloud, in the following manner: 

'*' I was asked: ^ Do you like roses?' and the 
answer was: ' Yes, when they are fried ! ' " The 
next player says: '^ I was asked, 'Are you fond 
of potatoes?' and the answer was: 'Yes, they 
are very pretty, but they don't wear well.' " 



76 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

SPIN THE PLATTER 

This IS a game which almost any number of 
children can play. 

The players seat themselves in a circle, and 
each takes the name of some town, or flower, or 
whatever has been previously agreed upon. One 
of the party stands in the middle of the circle, 
with a tin plate, or waiter, places it upon its 
edge, and spins it, calling out as he does so the 
name which one of the players has taken. The 
person named must jump up and seize the plate 
before it ceases spinning, but if he is not very 
quick the plate will fall to the ground, and he 
must then pay a forfeit. It is then his turn 
to spin the platter. 

THE traveler's ALPHABET 

The players sit in a row and the first begins 
by saying, ^' I am going on a journey to Athens,'' 
or any place beginning with A. The one sitting 
next asks, "What will you do there?" The 
verbs, adjectives, and nouns used in the reply 
must all begin with A; as, "Amuse Ailing 
Authors with Anecdotes." If the player answers 
correctly, it is the next player's turn; he says, 



HOME PASTIMES 77 

perhaps: ** I am going to Boston." '^ What to 
do there?" ^^ Bring Back Beans and Brown 
Bread." A third says: '' I am going to Con- 
stantinople." ''What to do there?" '' Carr>- 
Contented Cats." Any one who makes a mistake 
must pay a forfeit. 

THIS AND THAT 

A confederate is necessary for this trick. The 
one performing the trick goes out of the room and 
the confederate agrees with the audience to touch 
a certain article. The person outside is recalled 
and his confederate begins to question him. ^' Did 
I touch this music-book?" "No." ''Did I 
touch this table? " " No." " Did I touch this 
knife?" "No." "Did I touch that fork?" 
" Yes." The secret consists in saying the word 
"^ that '' before naming the article touched, in- 
stead of '' this/" 

BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK 

Can be played by quite young children of both 
sexes, and is equally adapted to "children of a 
larger growth." By increasing the size and 
weight of the shuttlecock, and substituting heavy 



78 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

wooden battledores for the light, leather-covered 
frames, the game of shuttlecock may be made to 
yield considerable exercise as well as amusement. 
The simplest form is where there are two players, 
who strike the shuttlecock alternately, the one 
who first allows it to fall to the ground being 
the loser. But the game may be made more in- 
teresting, and at the same time amuse a greater 
number, when there are five or six players, who 
divide into sides, each having his number — one 
side, I, 3, 5 ; the other, 2, 4, 6. The shuttlecock, 
first struck by i, must then be hit by 2, and then 
in turn by 3, 4, 5, and 6. The player who lets 
it drop is out, and the side of which one or more 
men are still in, after all their opponents have 
lost their positions, wins. 

A good shuttlecock may be made, where there 
are no toy-shops tp supply it, by cutting off the 
projecting ends of a common cotton-spool, trim- 
ming one end with a knife, and drilling holes in 
the flat surface left at the other, in which holes 
the feathers of quill pens are to be inserted. As 
for the battledores, we should think very little of 
the boy who could not, on an emergency, cut 
out a set from a bit of thin board, or the flat lid 
of a box, with the help of the big blade of his 
pocket-knife. 



HOME PASTIMES 79 

The French are great adepts at this game, and 
light battledores and shuttlecocks are wielded by 
them with great perseverance and considerable 
skill. There is one great advantage about this 
game, namely, that without requiring any great 
amount of strength, it thoroughly exercises every 
muscle of the player, and furnishes real exercise 
without producing exhaustion. 

BUZZ 

This is a very old game, and is always a great 
favorite. The more players, the greater the fun. 
The players sit in a circle and begin to count in 
turn, but w^hen the number 7 or any number 
in which the figure 7 or any multiple of 7 is 
reached, they say ^* Buzz,'' instead of whatever 
the number may be. As, for instance, supposing 
the players have counted up to 12, the next player 
will say '' 13," the next *' Buzz,'' because 14 is 
a multiple of 7 (twice 7) ; the next player will 
then say *' 15," the next "16" and the next 
would of course say ^* Buzz " because the figure 
7 occurs in the number 17. If one of the players 
forgets to say *^ Buzz " at the proper time, he 
is out. The game then starts over again with 
the remaining players, and so it continues till there 



8o ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

is but one person remaining. If great care is 
taken the numbers can be counted up to 70, which, 
according to the rules before mentioned, would 
of course be called Buzz. The numbers would 
then be carried on as Buzz i, Buzz 2, etc., up 
to 79, but it is very seldom that this stage is 
reached. 

THE STAGE-COACH 

The leader tells every member of the company 
to choose as a name some article connected with 
a stage-coach; the wheels, the horses, the whip, 
the bridle, etc., may be chosen. These the leader 
jots down on a piece of paper and then begins 
to tell a thrilling story. '^ The stage-coach left 
town amidst the thundering of the horses' hoofs 
and the cracking of the driver's whip/' Some 
mem.bers will probably have chosen to be the 
horses, another the whip, and as their names are 
mentioned they must rise, twirl round, and sit 
down again. Then the narrator continues: '* For 
some miles all went well, then a bridle gave way 
[the bridle must rise and twirl round] and the 
driver put down the reins ^ jumped from his seat 
and ran to the horses' heads. It was found neces- 
sary to unhitch the horses before the stage-coach 
could proceed on its way.'' As each member's 



HOME PASTIMES 8i 

name is mentioned he must rise and twirl round ; 
but when the stage-coach is mentioned every one 
must rise and change seats, when the narrator, 
who has been standing, tries to secure one. If 
he succeeds, the person left out becomes narrator. 
The great point is for the narrator to tell such 
a thrilling story that the members forget to 
acknowledge the mention of their names, when 
they must pay a forfeit. 

DROP THE HANDKERCHIEF 

A ring is formed by the players joining hands, 
while one child, who is to '' drop the handker- 
chief," is left outside. He walks round the ring, 
touching each one with the handkerchief, saying 
the following words: 

*' I wrote a letter to my love, 
But on my way I dropped it 5 
A little child picked it up 
And put it in his pocket. 
It wasn't you 5 it wasn't you ; 
It wasn't you — but it qjuas you! ** 

When he says, *^ It was you'' he must drop 
the handkerchief behind one of the players, who 
picks it up and chases him round the ring, outside 
and under the joined hands, till he can touch 



82 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

him with the handkerchief. As soon as this 
happens, the first player joins the ring, while it 
is now the turn of the second to ^' drop the 
handkerchief/' 

MAGIC MUSIC 

One of the players is sent out of the room, 
and the rest then agree upon some simple task 
for her to perform, such as moving a chair, touch- 
ing an ornament, or finding some hidden object. 
She is then called in and some one begins to 
play the piano. If the performer plaj^s very 
loudly the *^ seeker " knows that she is nowhere 
near the object she is to search for. When the 
music is soft, then she knows she is very near, 
and when the music ceases altogether, she knows 
that she has found, the object she was intended 
to look for. 

THE SEA-KING 

This game can be played by any number of 
children. They proceed by first choosing one 
of the party to act as the sea-king, whose duty 
it is to stand in the center of a ring, formed by 
the players seating themselves round him. The 



HOME PASTIMES 83 

circle should be as large as possible. Each of the 
players having chosen the name of a fish, the 
king runs round the ring, calling them by the 
names which they have selected. 

Each one, on hearing his name called, rises at 
once, and follows the king, who, when all his 
subjects have left their seats, calls out, '' The 
sea is troubled," and seats himself suddenly. His 
example is immediately followed by his subjects. 
The one who fails to obtain a seat has then to 
take the place of king, and the game is con- 
tinued. 

'' I APPRENTICED MY SON '' 

The best way of describing this game is to 
give an illustration of how it is played. The 
first player thinks of ^* Artichoke," and com- 
mences. '^ I apprenticed my son to a greengrocer, 
and the first thing he sold was an A." 
2nd player: '' Apple? "— " No." 
3rd player: " Almonds? "—" No." 
4th player: "Asparagus? " — '' No." 
5th player: " Artichoke? "—" Yes." 
The last player, having guessed correctly, may 
now apprentice his son. No player is allowed 
more than one guess. 



84 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE DWARF 

This IS a most amusing game if well carried 
out. The two performers must be hidden behind 
two curtains in front of which a table has been 
placed. 

One of the performers slips his hands into a 
child's socks and little shoes. He must then dis- 
guise his face, by putting on a false mustache, 
parting his eyebrows, sticking pieces of black 
court-plaster over one or two of his teeth, which 
will make it appear as though he has lost several 
teeth. This, w^ith a turban on his head, will 
prove a very fair disguise. The second per- 
former must now stand behind the first and pass 
his arms round him, so that the second performer's 
hands may appear like the hands of the dwarf, 
while the first performer's hands make his feet. 
The figure must, of course, be carefully dressed, 
and the body of the second performer hidden 
behind the curtains. 

The front player now puts his slippered hands 
upon the table and begins to keep time, while 
the other performer follows suit with his 
hands. 

The dwarf can be used either to tell fortunes, 
make jokes, or ask riddles, and if the performers 



HOME PASTIMES 85 

act their parts well, the guests will laugh very 
heartily. 



PUSS IN THE CORNER 

This game is really for five players only, but 
by a little arrangement six or seven children 
can take part in the fun. 

Four players take their places in the different 
corners of the room, while the fifth stands in 
the middle. If a greater number of children wish 
to play, other parts of the room must be named 
** corners, '' so that there is a corner for every 
one. The fun consists in the players trying to 
change places without being caught ; but they are 
bound to call *^ Puss, puss,'' first, and to beckon 
to the one they wish to change with. As soon 
as they leave their corners, the player in the 
center tries to get into one of them. 

When the center player succeeds in getting into 
a corner, the one who has been displaced has to 
take his place in the middle of the room. 

BLIND man's buff 

In the olden times this game was known by 
the name of ** hoodman-blind," as in those days 



86 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

the child that was chosen to be '' blind man " had 
a hood placed over his head, which was fastened 
at the back of the neck. 

In the present day the game is called blind 
man's buff, and very popular it is among young 
folks. 

Before beginning to play, the middle of the 
room should be cleared, the chairs placed against 
the wall, and all toj^s and footstools put out of 
the way. The child having been selected who is 
to be blind man, or Buf¥, is blindfolded. He 
is then asked the question: '' How many horses 
has your father got? " The answer is ^* Three," 
and to the question: '' What color are they? '^ he 
replies: ''Black, white, and gray.'' All the 
players then cry: "Turn round three times and 
catch whom you may." Buff accordingly spins 
round, and then J:he fun commences. He tries 
to catch the players, while they in their turn 
do their utmost to escape Buff, all the time making 
little sounds to attract him. This goes on until 
one of the players is caught, when Buff, without 
having the bandage removed from his eyes, has 
to guess the name of the person he has secured. 
If the guess is correct, the player who has been 
caught takes the part of Buff, and the former 
Buff joins the ranks of the players. 



HOME PASTIMES 



SIMON SAYS 

Seat yourselves in a circle and choose one of 
the company to be the leader, or Simon. His 
duty is to order all sorts of different things to 
be done, the funnier the better, which must be 
obeyed only when the order begins with ^' Simon 
says.'* As, for instance, " Simon says: 'Thumbs 
up!*'' which, of course, all obey; then perhaps 
comes: *' Thumbs down!" which should not be 
obeyed, because the order did not commence with 
*' Simon says,'' 

Each time this rule is forgotten a forfeit must 
be paid. '' Hands over eyes," '' Stamp the right 
foot," *' Pull the left ear," etc., are the kind of 
orders to be given. 

THE SCHOOLMASTER 

This is always a favorite game. One of the 
players is chosen schoolmaster, and the others, 
ranged in order in front of him, form the class. 
The master may then examine the class in any 
branch of learning. Supposing him to choose 
geography, he must begin with the pupil at the 
head of the class, and ask for the name of a 
country or town beginning with A. If the 



88 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

pupil does not reply correctly before the master 
has counted ten, he asks the next pupil, who, if 
he answers rightly — say, for instance, ** America," 
or ** Amsterdam " — in time, goes to the top of 
the class. The schoolmaster may go on in this 
way through the alphabet, either regularly or 
at random, as he likes. Any subject — names of 
kings, queens, poets, soldiers, etc. — may be chosen. 
The questions and answers must follow as quickly 
as possible. Whoever fails to answer in time 
pays a forfeit. 

DUMB CRAMBO 

Divide the company into two equal parts, one 
half leaving the room; the remaining players 
should then select a word, which will have to 
be guessed by those outside the door. When 
the word has been chosen — say, for instance, 
the word " will ''—the party outside the room 
are told that the word they are to guess rhymes 
with *' till." A consultation then takes place, and 
they may think that the word is *' ill." The 
company then enter and begin to act the word 
" ill," but without speaking a word. The audi- 
ence, v/hen they recognize the word that is being 
performed, will immediately hiss, and the actors 
then retire and think of another word. 



HOME PASTIMES 89 

Thus the game goes on till the right word is 
hit upon, when the company who have remained 
in the room clap their hands. The audience then 
change places with the actors. 

HISS AND CLAP 

This is an excellent party game. One of the 
company goes out of the room, while the re- 
mainder of the players decide among themselves 
w^hich of them he shall kneel to. When this 
is settled upon, the person who is outside is 
allowed to enter, and he kneels in front of the 
player he thinks is the right one. If he should 
make a correct guess, the company clap their 
hands, and the person to whom he knelt goes 
outside. If, however, the guess is incorrect, the 
company hiss loudly, and the guesser has to go 
outside, come back, and try again. Of course, it 
will make more amusement if when a boy is sent 
out of the room a girl may be chosen as the 
person to whom he has to kneel ; and the opposite 
if a girl be outside. 

THE ADVENTURERS 

i This is a very good game, and will combine 
I both instruction and amusement. The idea is 



90 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

that the company imagines itself to be a party 
of travelers who are about to set out on a journey 
to foreign countries. A good knowledge of 
geography is required, also an idea of the manu- 
factures and customs of the foreign parts about 
to be visited. It would be as well, if not quite 
certain about the location of the part, to refer 
to a map. 

A place for starting having been decided upon, 
the first player sets out upon his journey. He 
tells the company w^hat spot he intends to visit 
(in imagination) and what kind of conveyance he 
means to travel in. On arriving at his destina- 
tion, the player states what he w^ishes to buy, 
and to whom he intends to make a present of his 
purchase on returning home. 

This may seem very simple, but it is not so 
easy as it appears. The player must have some 
knowledge of the country to which he is going, . 
the way he will travel, and the time it will take 
to complete the journey. 

To give an instance, it will not do for the 
player to state that he is going to Greenland to 
purchase pineapples, or to Florida to get furs, 
nor will it do for him to make a present of a 
meerschaum pipe to a lady, or a Cashmere shawl j 
to a gentleman. 



HOME PASTIMES 91 

More fun Is added to this game if forfeits 
are exacted for all mistakes. 

The game continues, and the second player 
must make his starting-point from where the first 
leaves off. 

Of course, all depends upon the imagination 
or the experience of the player: if he has been 
a traveler, or has read a good deal, his de- 
scriptions should be very interesting. 

'' OUR OLD GRANNIE DOESN't LIKE TEA " 

All the players sit in a row, except one, who 
sits in front of them and says to each one in 
turn : '' Our old Grannie doesn't like T ; what can 
you give her instead? " 

Perhaps the first player will answer, ^' Cocoa,'' 
and that will be correct ; but if the second player 
should say, ^^ Chocolate," he will have to pay a 
forfeit, because there is a '^ T " in chocolate. 
This is really a catch, as at first every one thinks 
that ^^ tea " is meant instead of the letter '' T." 
Even after the trick has been found out, it is 
rery easy to make a slip, as the players must 
answer before '' five " is counted; if they cannot, 
or if they mention an article of food with the 
letter " T " in it, they must pay a forfeit. 



92 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

RULE OF CONTRARY 

This IS a simple game for little children. It 
is played either with a pocket-handkerchief or, 
if more than four want to play, with a table- 
cloth or small sheet. 

Each person takes hold of the cloth ; the leader 
of the game holds it with the left hand, while 
with the right he makes pretense of wanting on 
the cloth, while he says: *^ Here we go round 
by the rule of contrary. When I say, 'Hold 
fast,' let go; and when I say, ^ Let go,* hold 
fast.'' 

The leader then calls out one or other of 
the commands, and the rest must do the opposite 
of what he says. Any one who fails must pay 
a forfeit. 

CONSEQUENCES 

One of the most popular games at a party is 
certainly ^^consequences" ; it is a very old favorite, 
but has lost none of its charms with age. The- 
players sit in a circle; each person is provided 
with a half-sheet of note-paper and a pencil, and 
is asked to write on the top — (i) one or more 
adjectives, then to fold the paper over, so that 



li 



HOME PASTIMES 93 

what has been written cannot be seen. Every 
player has to pass his or her paper on to the right- 
hand neighbor, and all have then to write on the 
top of the paper which has been passed by the 
left-hand neighbor (2) ^^ the name of the gentle- 
man " ; after having done this the paper must 
again be folded and passed on as before ; this time 
must be written (3) one or more adjectives; then 

(4) a lady's name; next (5) where they met; 
next (6) what he gave her; next (7) what he 
said to her; next (8) what she said to him; 
next (9) the consequence; and lastly (10) what 
the world said about it. 

Be careful that every time anything has been 
written the paper is folded down and passed on- 
to the player on your right. 

When every one has written what the world 
says, the papers are collected and one of the 
company proceeds to read out the various 
papers, and the result may be something like 
this: 

(i) The horrifying and delightful (2) Mr. 
Brown (3) met the charming (4) Miss Phillips 

(5) in the Public Library; (6) he gave her a 
flower (7) and said to her: '* How's your 
mother?'' (8) She said to him: "Not for 
Joseph"; (9) the consequence was they danced 



94 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

the hornpipe, and the world said: (lo) ^' Just 
what we expected." 



EARTH, AIR, FIRE, AND WATER | 

To play this game seat yourselves in a circle, 
take a clean duster or handkerchief, and tie it in 
a big knot, so that it may easily be throw^n from 
one player to another. One of the players throws 
it to another, at the same time calling out either 
of these names: Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. 
If " Earth '* is called, the player to whom the 
ball is thrown has to mention something that 
lives on the earth, as lion, cat ; if '^ Air " is 
crJ^.ed, something that lives in the air; if 
'^ Water," something that lives in the water; 
but if ^' Fire " is called, the player must keep 
silence. Always remember not to put birds in 
the water or animals or fishes in the air; be 
silent when " Fire " is called, and answer before 
ten can be counted. For breaking any of these 
rules a forfeit must be paid. 

''animal, vegetable, or mineral?" 

This is a capital game for a large party, foi 
It is both instructive and amusing. One playei 



HOME PASTIMES 95 

is selected who has to guess what word or sen- 
tence the remainder of the company has chosen. 
He goes out of the room, and when the subject 
has been decided upon, returns and asks a question 
of each of the company in turn. The answer 
must be either '' Yes " or '^ No," and in no case 
should more words be used, under penalty of 
paying a forfeit. The first important point to 
be found out is whether the subject is " Animal," 
'' Vegetable," or '' Mineral." Supposing, for in- 
stance, the subject chosen is a cat which is sleep- 
ing in the room by the fire, the questions and 
answers might be like the following: ^^ Is the 
subject chosen an animal?" ''Yes." ''Wild 
animal?" "No." " Domestic animal ? " " Y^." 
" Comm.on? " " Yes." " Are there many to be 
seen in this town?" "Yes." "Have you seen 
m.any to-day?" "Yes." "In this house?" 
"No." "Have you seen many in the road?" 
"Yes." "Do they draw carts?" "No." "Are 
they used for working purposes? " " No." " Is 
the subject a pet?" "Yes." "Have they one 
in the house?" "Yes." "In this room?" 
" Yes." " Is it lying in front of the fire at 
the present time? " " Yes." " Is the subject you 
all thought of the cat lying in front of the fire 
in this room?" "Yes." The subject having 



96 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

been guessed, another one is chosen and the game 
proceeds. 



CRAMBO 

One of the party leaves the room, and on his 
return he is asked to find a word which has 
been chosen by the other players in his absence, 
and in order to help him another word is men- 
tioned rhyming with the word to be guessed. 
Questions may then be asked by the guesser, and 
the players must all introduce, as the final word 
of their answer, another word rhyming with the 
word chosen. For instance, suppose the word 
*' way " is selected. The guesser would then be 
told that the word chosen rhymes with '' say.'' 
He might then ^ ask the first one of the party: 
*^What do you think of the weather?" and the 
answer might be: ''We have had a lovely day.""' 
The second question might be: "Have you en- 
joyed yourself?" and the answer might be: 
*' Yes, I have had lots of play'' The game would! 
proceed in this way until the guesser gave thee 
correct answer or one of the party failed to givee 
the proper rhyme, in which case the latter wouldd| 
then be called upon to take the place of guesser.' 



HOME PASTIMES 97 

HUNT THE SLIPPER 

The players seat themselves in a circle on the 
floor, having chosen one of their number to re- 
main outside the circle. The children seated 
on the floor are supposed to be cobblers, and the 
one outside is the customer who has brought his 
shoe to be mended. He hands it to one of them, 
saying : 

** Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe ; 
Get it done by half-past two. " 

The cobblers pass the shoe round to each other 
as quickly as they can, taking care that the 
customer does not see which of them has it. 
When the customer comes to fetch it he is told 
that it is not ready. He pretends to get angry 

: and says he will take it as it is. He must then 
try to find it, and the cobbler who has it must 
try to pass it to his neighbor without its being 
seen by the customer. The person upon whom 

; the shoe is found must become the customer, while 

eithe customer takes his place in the circle on 

\t{the floor. 

1 



98 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THOUGHT-READING 

This game always causes considerable amuse- 
ment, and if skilfully carried out will very suc- 
cessfully mystify the whole company. 

It is necessary that the player who is to take 
the part of thought-reader should have a con- 
federate, and the game is then played as follows: 

The thought-reader, having arranged that the 
confederate should write a certain word, com- 
mences by asking four members of the company 
to write each a word upon a piece of paper, fold 
the paper up in such a manner that it cannot be 
seen, and then to pass it on to him. The con- 
federate, of course, volunteers to make one oft 
the four, and writes the w^ord previously agreed 
upon, which is, we will suppose, ^' Hastings.'* 

The thought-reader places the slip of paper 
between his fingers, taking care to put the paper 
of his confederate between the third and little 
finger; he then takes the folded paper fromi 
between his thumb and first finger and rubs it,i 
folded as it is, over his forehead, at each ruh 
mentioning a letter, as H. rub, A. rub, S.T.I. N.', 
G.S., after which he calls out that some lad]!] 
or gentleman has written '' Hastings." '' I did,'| ^ 
replies the confederate. 



HOME PASTIMES 99 

The thought-reader then opens the paper, looks 
at it, and slips it into his pocket ; he has, however, 
looked at one of the other papers. Consequently 
he is now in a position to spell another word, 
which he proceeds to do in the same manner, 
and thus the game goes on until all the papers 
have been read. 

'' MY MASTER BIDS YOU DO AS I DO '' 

For children fond of a little exercise, no better 
game than this can be chosen. When the chairs 
are placed in order round the room the first 
player commences by saying: ''My master bids 
you do as I do," at the same time working away 
with the right hand as if hammering at his knees. 
The second player then asks: '' What does he bid 
me do?" in answer to which the first player 
says: *' To w^ork with one as I do." The second 
pla5'er, working in the same manner, must turn 
to his left-hand neighbor and carry on the same 
conversation, and so on until every one is working 
away with the right hand. 

The second time of going round, the order is 
to work with two; then both hands must work; 
then with three; then both hands and one leg 
must work ; then with four, when both hands and 



loo ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

both legs must work ; lastly with five, when both 
legs, both arms, and the head must be kept going. 
Should any of the players fail in keeping in con- 
stant motion, a forfeit may be claimed. 



GREEN GRAVEL 

In this game the children join hands and walk 
round in a circle, singing the following words : 

* ' Green gravel, green gravel, your grass is so green ; 
The fairest young damsel that ever was seen, 
I'll wash you in new milk and dress you in silk, 
And write down your name with a gold pen and ink. 
Oh ! (Mary) 5 Oh ! (Mary), your true love is dead j 
He*s sent you a letter to turn round your head ! '' 

When the players arrive at that part of the 
song, ^' Oh! Mary,'' they name some member of 
the company; when the song is finished the one 
named must turn right round and face the outside 
of the ring, having her back to all the other 
players. She then joins hands in this position 
and the game continues as before till all the 
players face outward. They then recommence, 
until they all face the inside of the ring as at 
first. 



HOME PASTIMES loi^ 

THE FARMYARD 

This game, if carried out properly, will cause 
great amusement. One of the party announces 
that he will whisper to each person the name of 
some animal, which, at a given signal, must 
be imitated as loudly as possible. Instead, how- 
ever, of giving the name of an animal to each, 
he whispers to all the company, with the exception 
of one, to keep perfectly silent. To this one he 
whispers that the animal he is to imitate is the 
donkey. 

After a short time, so that all may be in 
readiness, the signal is given. Instead of all the 
party making the sounds of various animals, noth- 
ing is heard but a loud bray from the one un- 
fortunate member of the company. 

"" HOW MANY NUTS DO I HOLD HERE? '' 

One child takes a few small nuts betw^een his 
Hands, so that they rattle loosely when he shakes 
them. He must then strike his closed hands upon 
his knee, and the other players guess, in turn, 
how many nuts he holds. The various guesses 
must be put down on paper, and w^hen all have 
had a turn the first player opens his hands and 



102 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

shows how many nuts he holds. He must then 
pay to each who guessed correctly the number 
guessed; but those who guessed incorrectly must 
pay him. 

COCK-FIGHTING 

This is a most amusing game, and although 
only two boys can play at it at one time, they 
will keep the rest of the company in roars of 
laughter. The two who are to represent the 
'' cocks '* having been chosen, they are both seated 
upon the floor. 

Each boy has his wrists tied together with a 
handkerchief, and his legs secured just above the 
ankles with another handkerchief; his arms are 
then passed over his knees, and a broomstick is 
pushed over ond arm, under both knees, and out 
again on the other side over the other arm. The 
"cocks" are now considered ready for fighting, 
and are carried into the center of the room and 
placed opposite each other with their toes just 
touching. The fun now begins. 

Each " cock'* tries with the aid of his toes to: 
turn his opponent over on his back or side. 

The one who can succeed in doing this firsti 
wins the game. 



1 



HOME PASTIMES 103 

It often happens that both " cocks " turn over 
at the same time, when the fight begins again. 



THE SPELLING GAME 

Each player in this game has what are called 
three '' lives,'' or chances. When the company is 
seated in a circle, the first player mentions a 
letter as the beginning of a word. The game 
IS for each of the company, in turn, to add a 
letter to it, keeping the word unfinished as long 
as possible. 

When a letter is added to the former letters 
and it makes a complete word, the person who 
completed it loses a '^ life." The next player 
then begins again. 

Every letter added must be part of a word, 
and not an odd letter thought of on the spur 
of the moment. When there is any doubt as to 
the letter used by the last player being correct, 
he may be challenged, and he will then have to 
give the word he was thinking of when adding 
the letter. If he cannot name the word, he loses 
a ** life " ; but if he can, it is the challenger who 
loses. 

This is an example of how the game should 
be played: Supposing the first player commences 



I04 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

with the letter " p '' ; the next, thinking of '' play," 
would add an *' 1 "; the next an ** o," thinking of 
*' plow " ; the next person, not having either of 
these words in his mind, would add " v " ; the next 
player, perhaps, not knowing the word of which 
the previous player was thinking, might challenge 
him, and would lose a ^' life " on being told the 
word was ^' plover." The player next in turn 
would then start a new word, and perhaps put 
down " b," thinking of '* bat," the next, thinking, 
say, that the word was ^^ bone," would add an 
" o," the next player would add " n "; the player 
whose turn it would now be, not wanting to lose 
a '' life " by finishing the word, would add an- 
other ''n"; the next player for the same reason 
would add *' e," and then there would be nothing 
else for the next in turn to do but to complete 
the word by adding '* t " and thus losing a ^' life." 

It will be seen that there are three ways of 
losing a " life." First, the player may lay down 
a letter, and on being challenged be unable to 
give the word. Secondly, he may himself chal- 
lenge another player who is not at fault. Thirdly, 
he may be obliged to add the final letter to a 
word, and so complete it. 

This is a most amusing game for a large party, 
for as the different persons lose their three 



HOME PASTIMES 105 

** lives " the players gradually dwindle down to 
two or three, when it gets very exciting to see 
who will be the last person left in, for he or 
she will be declared the winner. 

THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER 

Lots are drawn in order to decide who shall 
be the grasshopper; the ants then seat themselves 
in a circle while the grasshopper writes on a piece 
of paper the name of a grain or food which a 
grasshopper might be supposed to like. He puts 
this in his pocket and then addresses the ants: 

*^ Dear friends, I am very hungry: would any 
of you kindly give me some food? " 

** I have nothing but a grain of barley,'' says 
the ant spoken to. 

*^ Thank you; that is of no use to me," replies 
the grasshopper, and goes on to the next player. 
As soon as any one offers the grain of food which 
the grasshopper has written down, the paper must 
be produced, and the one who guessed the word 
pays a forfeit and becomes grasshopper. H no 
one guesses the word the grasshopper pays a 
forfeit. 

The game then goes on in the same way, except 
that a different question is asked on the second 
round. 



io6 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

^' Neighbors," says the grasshopper, '^ I have 
eaten abundantly, and would have a dance. 
Which would you recommend?" 

A waltz, a polka, a quadrille, etc., are sug- 
gested, and when this question has gone the round, 
the grasshopper asks what music he can dance 
to, and the ants suggest the music of the violin, 
the piano, cornet, etc. Then the grasshopper 
says he is tired of dancing and wishes for a bed, 
and the ants offer him moss, straw, grass, and 
so on, to lie upon. 

'' I should sleep very comfortably," the grass- 
hopper says, '^ but I am in fear of being pounced 
upon by a hungry bird. What bird have I most 
reason to fear?" The ants answer: the crow, 
the sparrow, etc. 

When the game is ended the forfeits that have 
been lost must be redeemed. 

OATS AND BEANS AND BARLEY 

All the children form a ring, with the exception 
of one player who stands in the center. The 
children then dance round this one, singing the 
first three lines of the verses given below. At 
the fourth line they stop dancing and act the 
words that are sung. They pretend to scatter 



HOME PASTIMES 107 

seed; then stand at ease, stamp their feet, clap 
their hands, and at the words '' Turn him round " 
each child turns round. 

They then again clap hands and dance round, 
and when the w^ords '' Open the ring and send 
one in " are sung, the center child chooses a 
partner, who steps into the ring, and the two 
stand together while the other children sing the 
remaining verse, after which the child who was 
first in the center joins the ring and the game 
is continued as before. 

**Oats and beans and barley O ! 
Do you or I or any one know 
How oats and beans and barley grow ? 

* * First the farmer sows his seed. 

Then he stands and takes his ease, 
Stamps his foot and claps his hands, 
And turns him round to view the land. 

*' Oats and beans and barley O ! 
Waiting for a partner, waiting for a partner j 
Open the ring and send one in. 
Oats and beans and barley O ! 

* * So now you're married you must obey, 

You must be true to all you say, 
You must be kind, you must be good. 
And help your wife to chop the wood, 
Oats and beans and barley O ! " 



io8 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

SALLY WATERS 

This game can be played by any number of 
children. A ring is formed in which all join, 
with the exception of one little girl who kneels 
in the center of the ring. The children then 
dance round her, singing the following verses: 

** Little Sally Waters, sitting in the sun, 
Crying and weeping for a young man. 
Rise, Sally, rise ; wipe off your eyes ; 
Fly to the East and fly to the West, 
Fly to the very one that you love best." 

When they come to the words '' Rise, Sally " 
the' child in the center rises and chooses another 
from the ring. The next two lines are then sung, 
and the two children in the ring dance round 
and kiss. Sally then joins the ring, the second 
child remaining in the circle, and the game is 
continued as before till all the players have acted 
the part of Sally. 



LUBIN, LOO 

This game can be played by any number of 
children. The players form a ring by clasping 
hands; they then dance round, singing the first 



HOME PASTIMES 109 

verse, which after the second verse serves as a 
chorus. 

"Here we dance lubin, loo j 
Here we dance lubin, light ; 
Here we dance lubin, loo. 
On a Saturday night." 

While singing the second verse, the children 
stop, unclasp their hands and suit their actions 
to the words contained in the verse. 

"Put all your right hands in, 

Take all your right hands out j 
Shake all your right hands together^ 
And turn yourselves about." 

Each child, while singing this, first stretches 
her right arm toward the center of the ring, 
then draws the same arm back as far as pos- 
sible, next shakes or swings her right hand, and 
when the last line is sung she turns right round. 
The children then once more join hands, and com- 
mence dancing, at the same time singing the chorus. 
The game proceeds as before till all the verses 
have been sung. Here are the remaining verses: 

** Here we dance lubin, loo ; 
Here we dance lubin, light j 
Here we dance lubin, loo, 
On a Saturday night. 



no ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

** Put all your left hands in, 

Take all your left hands out ; 
Shake all your left hands together, 
And turn yourselves about. 

Chorus : 
**Here we dance lubin, loo,'* etc. 

*' Put all your right feet in, 

Take all your right feet out ; 

Shake all your right feet together, 

And turn yourselves about. 

Chorus : 
"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc. 

**Put all your left feet in, 

Take all your left feet out; 

Shake all your left feet together. 

And turn yourselves about. 

Chorus: 
"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc 

** Put all your heads in, 

Take all your heads out j 

Shake all your heads together, 

And turn yourselves about. 

Chorus : 
**Here we dance lubin, loo," etc, 

*'Put all the little girls in. 

Take all the little girls out ; 

Shake all the little girls together, 

And turn yourselves about. 



HOME PASTIMES iii 

Chorus : 
"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc. 

**Put all the little boys in, 

Take all the little boys out ; 

Shake all the little boys together, 

And turn yourselves about. 

Chorus : 
"Here we dance lubin, loo/' etc. 

**Put all yourselves in. 

Take all yourselves out ; 
Shake all yourselves together, 
And turn yourselves about.** 

Chorus : 
*'Here we dance lubin, loo," etc, 

SHOUTING PROVERBS 

This IS a rather noisy game. One of the 
company goes outside the door, and during his 
absence a proverb is chosen and a word of it 
is given to each member of the company. When 
the player who is outside reenters the room, one 
of the company counts, *' One, two, three," then 
all the company simultaneously shout out the 
word that has been given to him or her of the 
proverb that has been chosen. 

If there are more players present than there 
are words in the proverb, tv.o or three of them 



112 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

must have the same word. The effect of all 
the company shouting out together is very funny. 
All that is necessary is for the guesser to have 
a sharp ear; then he is pretty sure to catch a 
word here and there that will give him the 
key to the proverb. 

ADJECTIVES 

A slip of paper and a pencil are given to each 
player, who must then write a number of ad- 
jectives on the paper. The slips are collected 
and given to the principal player, who has under- 
taken to read out a short story, substituting the 
adjectives on the slips for those already in the 
story. The adjectives must be taken as they 
come, not picked out to suit the story. The 
result is sometimes very laughable; as for in- 
stance — '^ The pretty rhinoceros is a very amiable 
animal. It is very attractive in its habits, and 
lives near lakes or rivers. Its delicate skin is so 
soft that special bullets are needed to pierce it,'* 
etc. 

THE FORBIDDEN VOWELS 

The players seat themselves, are questioned by 
the leader of the game, and must answer with- 



HOxME PASTIMES ijs 

out bringing in a word containing a forbidden 
vowel. Say the vowel '' a " is forbidden, the 
leader asks, " Are you fond of playing the 
piano?" The answer, ''Yes, very," would be 
correct, as the w^ords do not contain the letter 
'' a." But if the answer were, '' Yes, and I am 
fond of singing, too," the speaker would have 
to pay a forfeit. Any vowel may be forbidden, 
or if the players choose to make the game very 
difficult, two vowels may be forbidden. Say 
" a " and '' e " are forbidden, and the question is, 
''Will your father be late home?" "I do not 
know," would be a correct answer. 

BLOWING THE CANDLE 

Place a lighted candle on a table at the end 
of a room. Invite some one to stand in front 
of it, then blindfold him, make him take three 
steps backward, turn round three times, and then 
advance three steps and blow out the candle. 
If he fails he must pay a forfeit. It will be found 
that very few are able to succeed, simple though 
the test appears to be. 



114 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

CAPPING VERSES 

The players are supplied with slips of paper 
and a pencil and every one writes a line of 
poetry, either original or from memory. Then 
the slips must be folded so that the line is hidden ; 
but the last word of the line must be written 
over the fold. The slips are passed on, so that 
a different writer supplies the next line, which 
must rhyme with the last word of the previous 
line. Again the slips are passed on, a new line 
is written and passed on with the new rhyming 
word written on the fold. When the papers have 
gone the round of the company the slips are 
unfolded and the verses read out. 

QUESTION-RHYMES 

Each player is provided with two slips of 
paper; on one he must write a question and on 
the other a noun. The papers are then collected 
and placed in two hats, or any suitable recep- 
tacles, the questions in one, the nouns or answers 
in another. 

Each player draws a question and a noun for 
himself, and must then write, in verse, an answer 
to the question, bringing in the noun. Suppose 



HOME PASTIMES r[5 

the question and noun to be, ^' Do you like 
oysters?" '^ Carnations,'^ the rhyme written 
might run like this: 

•' Do I like oysters ? Yes, I do, 
And I like carnations too. 
The first are very good to eat, 
The latter have an odor sweet." 



THE BLIND POSTMAN 

The game of the Blind Postman is one espe- 
cially adapted for a large party. It is played 
as follows: 

The Postman is selected by lot, while the 
Postmaster-general either volunteers his services 
or is elected by the company. The person (of 
either sex) on whom the unwished-for honor of 
enacting Postman falls is blindfolded; the re- 
mainder of the company meanwhile seating them- 
selves round the room. The number of chairs 
is limited, so that there shall be one less than 
the number of players. The Postmaster-general 
then writes the names of certain cities and towns 
on slips of paper, giving one to each person, 
so that they may remember by what name they 
are to answer. Should there be but few players, 
the names can be given orally. The Postman is 



ii6 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

placed in the center of the room, and the Post- 
master-general takes up a position from which 
he can address the entire company. He com- 
m.ences the game by calling out '' New York to 
Boston" (or any other places which he may 
select). The players bearing these names must 
instantly rise, and endeavor to change seats with 
each other; while the Postman tries to capture 
one of them before they accomplish the change. 
Should he succeed, he removes the bandage from 
his eyes, and takes the chair which his captive 
has vacated, while the latter is blindfolded and 
becomes Postman in turn, in addition to paying 
a forfeit. Forfeits are also incurred by those 
who do not spring to their feet and endeavor to 
change seats with the town or city whose name 
is called in connection with their own. Forfeits 
are also demanded of those who, in their hurry 
to be in time, answer when their name has not 
been called. The confusion arising places many 
chances in the Postman's favor. The Postmaster- 
general may hold his appointment till the end of 
the game, but if tires of his honors he may 
resign. 



HOME PASTIMES n7 

HONEY-POTS 

For little ones there is scarcely a more popular 
game than Honey-Pots. Small children of three 
and four can be included in this game, but there 
should be two bigger children for the Buyer 
and the Merchant. The children, with the ex- 
ception of the Buyer and Merchant, seat them- 
selves upon the floor of the room, with their knees 
raised and their hands clasped together round 
them. These children are called Honey-Pots. 
The Merchant and the Buyer then talk about 
the quality and quantity of the Honey, and the 
price of each Pot, It is agreed that the price 
to be paid shall be according to the weight of the 
Honey and the Pot. The children are carefully 
" weighed '' by raising them two or three times 
from the floor and swinging them by their arms, 
one arm being held by the Merchant and the 
other by the Buyer. 

When the Honey-Pots are all weighed the 
Buyer says he will purchase the whole of the 
stock, and asks the Merchant to help him carry 
the Pots home. Then the Merchant and the 
Buyer carry the children one by one to the other 
end of the room. 

When all are safely at the Buyer's house, the 



ii8 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

Merchant goes out of the room, but suddenly 
returns and says to the Buyer: "I believe you 
have carried off my little daughter in one of the 
Honey-Pots.'' The Buyer replies: ** I think not. 
You sold me all the Pots full of Honey, but 
if you doubt me you can taste them/' 

The Merchant then pretends to taste the 
Honey, and after having tried two or three Pots, 
he exclaims: "Ah! this tastes very much like 
my little daughter." The little girl w^ho repre- 
sents the Honey-Pot chosen by the Merchant 
then cries out: "Yes, I am your little girl," and 
immediately jumps up and runs away, the Buyer 
at the same time endeavoring to catch her. 

When the one Honey-Pot runs away all the 
others do the same, the Buyer catches whom he 
can, and the game recommences. 

" THEY CAN DO LITTLE WHO CANNOT DO THIS, 
THIS, THIS " 

For this game the party seat themselves in a 
circle, or round the fire; the first person then 
takes a stick in the right hand and, knocking 
the floor, says, " They can do little who cannot 
do this, this, this." Then, passing the stick from 
the right to the left hand, he presents it to the 



HOME PASTIMES n^ 

next person. The little folks think the catch 
is in the number of knocks, or in the words 
spoken, when it is merely in taking the stick in 
the right hand, and passing it w^ith the left to 
the next person. A forfeit must be paid for each 
mistake. 



MALAGA RAISINS 

This amusing game is almost sure to bring^ 
in a large number of forfeits for the director ta 
redeem at the end of the evening. The catch 
is caused by the director coughing, or making a 
noise with his throat, before he says the sentence, 
which all the company m.ust repeat after him, 
one at a time. Thus, the party having all 
seated themselves in a circle, the director says, 
" H-e-m [here making a noise in his throat], 
Malaga raisins are very good raisins, but Valen- 
cias are better." The person sitting second is 
almost sure to say, ^' Malaga raisins are very good 
raisins, but Valencias are better '' — of course in- 
curring a forfeit through not saying ^* H-e-m '* 
(or making a noise in the throat), like the 
director. As soon as any one of the party has 
repeated the sentence, leaving out the " H-e-m," 
the director says, ^' Edward, or Fanny [or who- 



I2Q ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

ever it may be], you have said wrong — a forfeit! '* 
But he must not tell how the sentence was said 
wrong. Then he passes on to the next. The 
third, fourth, and almost all the party, with 
the exception of those who have played this game 
before, are almost sure to leave out the " H-e-m," 
and thus incur a forfeit each, as often as the game 
goes round. It makes the game even more amus- 
ing if one or two of the number do know the 
trick, as those not in the secret are puzzled by 
seeing others do it correctly while they themselves 
fail. And it is very good fun to see the many 
ways each pronounces the words; thinking they 
have to pay a forfeit through not pronouncing 
them properly. When the sentence has passed 
round three or four times, and a good many for- 
feits have been collected, then, and not before, 
the director may tell how the forfeits were in- 
curred. 

THE HUNTSMAN 

This game is one of the liveliest pastimes for 
a winter evening. It may be played by any 
number of persons above four. One of the 
players is styled the Huntsman, and the others 
must be called after the different parts of the 



HOME PASTIMES 121 

- 

dress or equipment of a sportsman: thus, one is 
the coat, another the hat, while the shot, shot- 
belt, powder, powder-flask, dog, and gun, and 
every other article belonging to a huntsman, has 
its representative. As many chairs as there are 
players, excluding the Huntsman, should next 
be ranged in two rows, back to back, and all 
the players must then seat themselves; and being 
thus prepared, the Huntsman walks round the 
sitters, and calls out the assumed name of one 
of them; for instance, ''Gun! " when that player 
imimediately gets up, and takes hold of the coat- 
skirts of the Huntsman, who continues his walk, 
and calls out the others one by one. Each must 
take hold of the skirts of the player before him, 
and when they are all summoned, the Huntsman 
sets off running round the chairs as fast as he can, 
the other players holding on and running after 
him. When he has run round two or three times, 
he shouts out ''Bang!" and immediately sits 
down on one of the chairs, leaving his followers 
to scramble to the other seats as they best can. 
Of course one must be left standing, there being 
one chair less than the number of players, and 
the player so left must pay a forfeit. The Hunts- 
man is not changed through the game unless he 
gets tired of his post. 



122 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE HORNED AMBASSADOR 

This IS a game which, if played with spirit, 
creates much merriment. It is played in this 
way: 

Strips of paper, twisted like a taper, are all 
the materials necessary. The first player turns 
to the person on his left hand, and with a bow 
says, '' Good morning, Royal Ambassador, always 
royal; I, the Royal Ambassador, always royal, 
come from his Royal Majesty [pointing to his 
neighbor on his right, who must bow], always 
royal, to tell you he has an eagle with a golden 
beak." 

The second player must repeat this to his left- 
hand neighbor exactly word for word as he hears 
it, adding brazen claws. If he leaves out a word, 
or makes any mistake, he must have one of the 
papers twisted into his hair. Then he becomes 
a one-horned ambassador, and must call himself 
so, instead of royal. 

For instance. No. i says: *' Good morning. 
Royal Ambassador, always royal; I, the Royal 
Ambassador, always royal, come from his Royal 
Majesty, always royal, to tell you that he has 
an eagle with a golden beak." 

No. 2. ** Good morning, Royal Ambassador, 



HOME PASTIMES 123 

always royal; I, the Royal Ambassador, come 
from :' 

Having left out always royal after his own 
name, No. 2 is horned, and says: ^^ Good, etc.; 
I, a One-horned Ambassador, always one-horned, 
come from his Royal," etc. 

When his neighbor has gone on, he must add 
diamond eyes to the eagle — each player must add 
something to the eagle — and he must say he comes 
from his One-horned Majesty, instead of his 
Royal Majesty. 

By this time a good many of the party will 
be well horned; and as every horn incurs a for- 
feit, the game may cease until they are redeemed. 
Sometimes the ambassador becomes seven- or 
eight-horned before the game is over. 

MY lady's toilet 

Each having taken the name of some article 
of dress, chairs are placed for all the party but 
one, so as to leave one chair too few. They all 
sit down but one, who is called the Lady's Maid, 
and stands in the center. She then calls out, 
'' My lady's up and wants her shoes," when the 
one who has taken that name jumps up and calls 
*' Shoes!" sitting down directly. If any one 



124 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

does not rise as soon as called, a forfeit is in- 
curred. Sometimes she says, *^ My lady wants 
her whole toilet,'^ then every one must jump up 
and change chairs, and as there is a chair too 
few, of course it occasions a scramble, and who- 
ever is left standing must be lady's maid, and 
call to the others as before. 



FOX AND GEESE 

There must be an even number of persons in 
this game. A circle is formed, the players stand- 
ing two by two, so that those who are on the 
outside each have one person in front of them; 
these are called the Geese, and there must be 
some space left between the couples, to allow 
the one who is chased to run in and out of the 
circle. Two must be left out, one a Goose, and 
the other the Fox. The Fox is to catch the 
Goose not belonging to the circle. The Goose 
may run around and also within the circle but 
the Fox is not allowed to pass within. When 
the Goose who is pursued places himself before 
one of the couples composing the circle, there 
will necessarily be three in the row, and as this 
is against the rule, the outside one of those three 
immediately becomes liable to be caught instead 



^^ HOME PASTIMES 125 

of the other, and must endeavor to avoid the 
pursuit of the Fox by darting within the circle 
and placing himself before some one of the players. 
It is the object of the Fox to catch the player 
who makes the third one of a row, and it is 
the object of each Goose to avoid the third place. 
The Fox can only touch the Goose as he stands 
the third in a row, or before he succeeds in 
escaping to a place of safety. If the Goose 
is touched by the Fox while in the position of 
third one in a row, or if touched in passing 
from this third place to one of safety, he becomes 
the Fox instead, and the other becomes a Goose 
again. The amusement of this game depends 
upon the spirit and animation with which it is 
conducted. Great rapidity of movement is neces- 
sary, especially when the Fox is a very active 
one, w^ho will endeavor to dart upon the outside 
Goose in sudden and unexpected ways. 

FLY-FEATHER 

The company sits in as small a circle as possible 
without crowding each other, and with a sheet 
stretched in the midst of them, held tightly under 
each chin. 

Somebody takes a small downy feather — any 



126 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

pillow will furnish one — and lets it float in the 
air, giving it a puff with his breath. 

The person toward whom it descends must 
likewise blow it up and away, for if it falls 
upon him, or if he allows it to fall upon the 
sheet, he pays a forfeit. 



A GOOD FAT HEN 

The leader begins by saying, ''A good fat 
hen,'' which is repeated by ever>^body around the 
room. He then says, ''Two ducks and a good 
fat hen,'' which is likewise repeated. Then, 
''Three plump partridges, two ducks, and a 
good fat hen," which again goes the rounds. 
And so on until, by adding one object at a time, 
the following is produced: 

" Ten sacrificed monkeys on a catamaran float- 
ing. Nine Mesopotamian mares with their manes 
and tails in good order. Eight transmogrified I 
priests in their pulpits preaching, Seven piggy- 
wiggies in a rye-field rooting, Six screaming] 
squirrels in a crab-tree screeching. Five gray.^ 
geese in a green field grazing, Four hares headless,; 
Three plump partridges, Two ducks, and a good 
fat hen." 



HOME PASTIMES 127 

Whoever fails to repeat correctly this hetero- 
geneous accumulation is dropped from the game. 



THE CUSHION-DANCE 

A hassock is placed end upward in the middle 
of the floor, round which the players form a 
circle with hands joined, having first divided 
into tw^o equal parties. The adversaries, facing 
each other, begin by dancing round the hassock 
a few times; then suddenly one side tries to 
pull the other forward, so as to force one of their 
number to touch the hassock, and to upset it. 
The struggle that necessarily ensues is a source 
of great fun, causing even more merriment to 
spectators than to the players themselves. At 
last, in spite of the utmost dexterity, down goes 
the hassock or cushion, whichever it may be. 
Some one's foot is sure to touch it before very 
long, when the unfortunate individual is dismissed 
from the circle and compelled to pay a forfeit. 

HANDS up; or up, JENKINS 

The company seat themselves around a table, 
the opposite sides being opponents. Each side 
chooses a captain. The captain on one side 



128 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES , 

conceals a piece of money (a silver quarter is 
best) in one hand. Holding up both hands, he 
asks the other side which of the hands it is in. 
If the other side guess right the quarter is passed 
over, and they begin the game as follows: All 
the hands of that side are hidden under the table 
while the quarter is given to one of the number. 
The captain on the other side calls, " Hands up! '' 
or '^Up, Jenkins!" Im.mediately the closed 
hands of all the party are held high, arms being 
vertical. They are held in this position while 
the opposing party view them. The captain then 
calls, ^'Down, Jenkins!" Every hand comes 
down flat on the table with open palms. The 
opposing party then try to locate the quarter, the 
side assisting their captain to guess. If the guess 
is right the quarter is passed over to the other 
side, but if the guess is wrong all the hands that 
are on the table are counted and noted for a 
score, and the quarter is retained. The sam© 
thing is gone over again until the money is- 
located and passed over. The side trying to gainr 
the quarter can, instead of locating it immediately/ 
request certain ones to take off their hands, whicH 
makes fewer counts against them in case of failure 
to locate. But if they require certain hands tc 
remove, and the money is under them, the handi 



HOME PASTIMES ^ 

remaining are counted against them, and the 
quarter is still retained until the other side locates 
it correctly. The side having the largest score, 
of course, wins the game. 



A PEANUT-GATHERING 

As the name of this game suggests, the object 
IS to gather peanuts which have been hidden in 
every available nook and corner, in crevices of 
sofas and chairs, under bric-a-brac, on mantels, 
and behind 'doors, etc. Each hunter is provided 
with a bag made with a piece of tape across the 
middle of the top, on which his name is written. 
As the peanuts are found they are placed in the 
bags. When it is thought that the hunting has 
continued long enough, the hunters are recalled 
to the room from which they started, the contents 
of the bags are counted by a committee appointed 
for the purpose, and a prize is awarded to the 
hunter having the largest number of peanuts. 

BEAN-BAGS 

Make twelve or sixteen bags, six inches square, 
of bed-ticking or heavy canvas, and loosely fill 
them with beans w^hich have been previously 



I30 ENTERTAIN^IENTS AND GAMES 

washed and dried to remove all dust. With these 
can be played a vr.riet}^ of games, the two most 
interesting of which are as follows: 



Appoint two leaders, who choose sides, arrang- 
ing the sides in lines facing each other, with 
small table at each end of each line. 

The bean-bags being equally divided, eacl 
leader deposits his share upon the table nearest 
him. Then at a given signal, seizing one bag 
at a time with one hand, with the other he starts 
them down the line, each player passing them to 
the next until they reach the last, who places them i 
as fast as received upon the table next him. 
When all the bags have reached this table, the 
last player, seizing each in turn, sends them back ;l 
up the line to the leader, who again deposits them I 
upon his table. 

Whichever side first succeeds in passing all 
the bags down the line and back wins the round. 
It takes five rounds to make a game, the side 
winning three out of the five being successful., 
The bags must be passed as rapidly as possible,: 
and every one must touch the end table before 
being returned. 



HOME PASTIMES 13^ 

If a bag falls to the ground it is best to leave 
It where it falls till all the others are down the 
line, when it may be quickly picked up and 
passed on with little loss of time. But if in his 
excitement a player stoops at once to pick it up, 
he will cause a delay in passing the remaining 
bags, which invariably creates much confusion 
and loss of time. 

II 

Have a board three feet long and two feet 
wide, elevated at one end by another board to 
an angle of thirty degrees, and having, some six 
inches from the top, an opening about five inches 
square. Station this board at one end of a long 
room, and divide the company equally. Eight 
of the bean-bags are all that are required. 

The leader of one side begins. Standing at a 
suitable distance from the board, he endeavors 
to throw the bags, one at a time, through the 
square opening. Every bag that reaches the goal 
counts ten, every one that lodges upon the board 
five, and every one that falls to the ground outside 
of the board a loss of ten. 

Suppose A to have put two bags through the 
opening (twenty) and two upon the board 



132 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

(ten) — that is a gain of thirty — but the other 
four bags falling to the ground makes a loss of 
forty, so his real score is a loss of ten. 

B puts four through the opening (forty), three 
upon the board (fifteen), and one upon the 
ground (minus ten), which gives him a gain of 
forty-five. 

The sides play alternately, and after three 
rounds for each, the scores, which have been 
carefully kept by one member of the party, are 
balanced, and the side having the greatest gain 
is declared the winner. A prize is often given 
for the highest individual score. 

THE BAG OF LUCK 

The Bag of Luck is a decorated paper bag 
suspended in a doorway at a convenient height; 
the children, blindfolded, are given three trials 
to break it with pretty ribbon-wound wands pro- 
vided for the purpose. These sticks are given 
afterward as souvenirs of the evening. The child 
who succeeds in making the first hole in the bag 
is entitled to a prize, but all share its contents, 
It is usually filled with confectionery, but flowers ; 
may be substituted v/hen candy is considered 1 
objectionable. 



HOME PASTIMES 133 

GOING TO JERUSALEM 

One person goes to the piano, while the others 
arrange in a line as many chairs, less one, as 
there are players; the chairs alternately facing 
opposite directions. 

Then, as the pianist begins to play, the others 
commence marching around the line of chairs, 
keeping time to the music. 

When this suddenly ceases, everybody tries to 
sit down, but as chairs are fewer by one than 
players, somebody is left standing and must re- 
main out of the game. 

Then another chair is removed and the march 

continued, until the chairs decrease to one and 

the players to two. Whichever of these succeeds 

i in seating himself as the music stops has won the 

game. 



KNIGHT OF THE WHISTLE 

This game always proves enjoyable to young 
folks, no matter of what age. One unacquainted 
with the game is chosen for ^^ dupe." He kneels 
down, and with many weird incantations and 
pow-wows the ceremony of declaring him Knight 
of the Whistle takes place. As he kneels, a rib- 



134 ENTERTAINMExNTS AND GAMES 

bon to which a whistle is attached is deftly pinnea 
to his coat. The company then sit on the floor 
in a circle, a whistle is produced by the leader, 
and the knight told to catch the one who blows 
It. All unconscious of the one dangling behind 
him — which is the one always blown — he turns 
round and round, vainly seeking the culprit. 
His frantic efforts in this direction are most 
amusing. In order to prolong the fun, the dan- 
gling whistle must not be touched by a clumsy 
hand. The one whom he at length catches at 
the trick must pay a forfeit, or wear a fool's 
cap the remainder of the evening. 

CAT AND MOUSE 

All the players join hands and form a ring. 
A little girl — the mouse — stands in the center; 
outside the circle prowls a boy — the cat. They 
dance round and round rapidly, raising their 
arms at intervals. Watching his chance, the cat 
tries to spring into the circle at one side; the 
mouse dashes out at the other. The children, 
always sympathizing with the mouse, aid her 
efforts and impede the cat's. When the latter 
gets into the circle, they lower their arms to 
keep him prisoner. He goes around meekly, 



HOME PASTIMES 135 

crying '' Mew, mew," while they all dance gaily 
around him. With a sudden ^^ Miaow," out he 
dashes through a weak place he has found in the 
chain of hands. He at once pursues the mouse, 
who runs for safety into the ring. If the cat is 
so near as to follow the mouse into the ring 
before he can be prevented, she pays a forfeit ; also 
when caught outside the circle. If the cat is un- 
successful, he must pay the forfeit. Two other 
players are then selected by cat and mouse to 
succeed them. The forfeits are imposed by the 
hostess, and are paid when the game is over. 
They can be made very diverting. 

INDOOR BUBBLE CONTEST 

Cover a long table with a woolen cloth; at 
intervals place ribbon-bound wickets. Girls and 
boys take sides; each player blows three bubbles 
at a time, endeavoring to fan or blow them 
through the wickets before they burst. If the 
bubble passes one wicket, it counts five points; 
ten points are counted for two wickets, fifteen 
for three, and so on. A good formula for soap- 
suds, made the day before using, is: one gill 
of glycerin, one ounce white Castile-soap shavings^ 
pint of water; shake, and allow to settle. 



136 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

FOX AND HEN 

This IS a good out-of-doors game, but can be 
played in the house if an entire floor can be 
given up to the sport. A tract, or space, is 
set apart for the farmyard, in which the chickens 
are safe from the fox. A boy is selected for 
the fox, and a girl for the hen; the rest are her 
chickens, standing in a row behind her, grasping 
one another by the waist. The fox then hides 
in his den, as secret a corner as he can find. 
The venturesome hen slowly approaches the den, 
followed by her chicks. " Please, Mr. Fox," says 
she very politely at the entrance, '' can you tell 
me what time it is?" If not inclined to catch 
a chick for dinner, the fox answers, '' One 
o'clock," or " Two," or " Three," upon which 
the hen meanders off unmolested. This will 
happen several times; at last he replies, ''Twelve 
o'clock at night," dashes out, catches a chick if 
he can, and carries it to his den, from which she 
tries to escape when he next dashes out. If 
the fox succeeds in catching the hen, she becomes IiikI 
the fox, and another hen is chosen. A sly fox 
will endeavor to keep the brood in a state oimi 
panic for some time by once in a while answeringl ^ 
''Twelve o'clock, noon!" The excitement oflrt;; 



HOME PASTIMES 137 

the little chicks will be enhanced if the fox bears 
the likeness of one by wearing a mask. 

FORFEITS 

As many of the indoor games require forfeits 
to be paid by those who do not fulfill the rules, 
It will perhaps be as well to give a list of easy 
forfeits and the way in which they should be 
carried out. When forfeit-time arrives, the one 
w^ho is to cry the forfeits must be blindfolded, 
so that he may not know on whom he is pro- 
nouncing judgment. A second person holds up 
the forfeits one at a time, and says of each: 
" Here's a pretty thing, and a very pretty thing: 
what shall be done to the owner of this very 
pretty thing? " Then the crier replies with one 
of the following forfeits: 

1. Bow to the wittiest, kneel to the prettiest, 
and kiss the one you love best. 

2. Bite an inch off the poker. — This is done 
by holding the poker an inch from your mouth 
and then pretending to bite. 

3. Lie down your full length upon the floor, 
fold your arms, and rise without unfolding them. 

4. Push your friend's head through a ring. — 
This is done by putting your finger through a 



i 



138 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

ring, and then pushing your friend's head with 
the tip of your finger. 

5. Put yourself through the keyhole.— Write 
the word '' yourself " on a piece of paper and pass^ 
it through the keyhole. 

6. Sit upon the fire.— Write " the fire '' upon 
a piece of paper and then sit upon the paper. 

7. Place a straw on the floor so that you 
cannot jump over it. To do this you must place 
the straw close to the wall. 

8. Laugh in one corner, cry in another, sing 
in a third, and dance in a fourth. 

9. Put one hand where the other cannot touch 
it._To do this you must clasp the elbow with 
the right hand. 

10. Say: '' Quizzical quiz, kiss me quick,'' six 
times without taking breath. 

11. Kiss a book inside and outside without 
opening it.— This is done by kissing the book 
inside the room and outside the room. 

12. Put two chairs back to back, then take 
ofE your shoes and jump over them.— This is a 
catch: it is the shoes you jump over, not the 

chairs. 

13. Put a candle where every one in the room 
except yourself, can see it.— To do this yoi 
place it on your own head. 



HOME PASTIMES 139 

14. Repeat the letters of the alphabet three 
times, leaving out the letter ^' o " each time. 

15. Take one of your friends upstairs and 
bring him down upon a feather. — Take some one 
upstairs, give him a feather and he will find 
down upon it, so you will have obeyed the 
command, '* to bring down upon a feather." 

i&. Shake a sixpence off the forehead. — The 
person who is to pay this forfeit must close his 
eyes, when some one else having wetted a sixpence 
proceeds to press it firmly upon his forehead. 
The sixpence is taken away, but the forfeit- 
payer still believes it to be there, and if told 
to shake the coin off will continue to try to 
do so for a minute or so before he finds out 
the deception. 

17. Kiss the candlestick. — Ask a young lady 
to hold a candle, and then kiss her, as she will 
represent the candlestick. 

18. Leave the room with two legs and return 
with six. — ^To do this you must bring a chair 
in with you. 

19. Stand on a chair and make whatever 
grimaces you are bidden without smiling. 

20. Stand on a chair and spell '* opportunity/' 
This is an opportunity for the other children 
to kiss you or tease you in any way. 



140 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

21. Repeat six times without a mistake: *' A 
lump of rough light red feather, a red light rough 
leather lump." 

22. Repeat six times: "There was an old 
woman who was a thistle-sifter, she had a sieve 
full of sifted thistles, and a sieve full of unsifted 
thistles, and she was a thistle-sifter." 

23. Ask a question to which it is impossible 
to answer " no." — The question is — '' What does 
y-e-s spell? " 

24. To dot and carry one. — Hold one ankle 
in one hand and hop round the room. 

25. Repeat six times: "Around the rugged 
rocks three ragged rascals ran a rural race." 

26. Repeat a piece of poetry, counting the 
w^ords aloud. Thus: "Twinkle (one), twinkle 
(two), little (three) star (four). How (five) 
I (six) wonder (seven) what (eight) you (nine) 
are (ten)," and so on. 

27. Become a statue. — You must stand on a 
chair and allow one of the company to place 
you in any ridiculous attitude he can think of. 

28. Answer " It was I " to everything said 
to you. — Each person in the room may speak 
to you if he chooses. Suppose the first person 
says: "I saw a monkey to-day," the forfeit- 
payer must reply: " It was I," and so on. 



HOME PASTIMES 141^ 

29. Play the part of exile. — Take a place in 
the corner of the room farthest removed from 
the company and remain there until the next 
forfeit is called, when the exile may inflict the 
punishment to be performed by the owner of 
the forfeit, and when he has seen it carried out 
may leave his corner. 

30. Blow out a lighted candle blindfolded. — 
This is a much more diflScult feat to perform 
than you would imagine; you are almost sure 
not to blow in the right direction. 

31. The German band.— Three or four of the 
players can all pay their forfeits at the same time. 
A toy musical instrument is given to each, and 
they must perform upon them as best they 
can. 

32. Comparisons. — The forfeit-payer must 
compare some one in the room to some object, and 
then explain in which way he or she resembles it 
or differs from it. For instance, a gentleman may 
compare a lady to a rose, because they are both 
sweet, though, unlike the rose, she is without 
a thorn. 

33. Compliments. — Pay five compliments to 
five ladies in turn. The first compliment must 
not have the letter " a " in it, the second must 
be without an " e," in the third there must be 



142 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

no '' i/' in the fourth no ''o," and in the fifth 
no "u." 

34. Kiss your own shadow. — Hold a lighted 
candle so that your shadow falls upon the face 
of one of your companions, and then kiss it. 

35. Form a blind judgment. — The person upon 
whom this sentence has been passed must be blind- 
folded. The company are then made to pass be- 
fore him, while he gives his opinion of each one, 
without knowing who it is. 

36. Send 3^our sw^eetheart's name by telegram. 
— To do this you must whisper the name of some 
one you admire to the person sitting next you. 
This person whispers it to his neighbor, and so 
on until every one has heard it. 

37. Act the Prussian soldier. — This penance 
is for boys onl}^ The coat must be turned inside 
out, a paper cocked hat must be worn on the 
head, and a mustache drawn on the face with a 
burnt cork. The Prussian soldier must then 
march round the room, stop in front of a lady, 
and present arms. The lady rises, marches be- 
side the soldier to the other end of the room; 
she then whispers the name of the person she 
admires most in the room. The soldier must 
return and fetch this person in the same manner 
as before. He then asks the second person whom 



HOME PASTIMES 143 

she will choose, and this goes on till some one 
chooses the soldier himself, and then his penance 
is over. 

38. The three words. — The names of three 
articles are given to you and you must say what 
you v/ould do with them were they yours. You 
are only allowed a minute in which to decide, 
and you will not receive your forfeit back unless 
you are able to answer within that time. Sup- 
pose the three words are ^^ elephant,'* " hedge- 
hog," and '' carpet." It may be a little difficult 
to think of the use of a hedgehog at a moment's 
notice, still you must not wait, so you reply: 
*' I would ride the elephant, eat the hedgehog, and 
dance on the carpet." 

39. The deaf man. — The forfeit-payer stands 
in the middle of the room and the company invite 
him to do certain things. To the first three 
invitations he must reply, '' I am deaf, and cannot 
hear," but to the fourth invitation he must reply, 
'' I am no longer deaf," and he is then bound 
to perform whatever the company suggest, no 
matter how disagreeable the task may be. 

40. Spell Constantinople. — The speller begins : 
C-o-n-, con, s-t-a-n, stan, t-i, ti, n-o. Here all 
the company call out " No!" and if the speller 
does not know the trick he will think he has 



144 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

made a mistake and begin to spell the word all 
over again. 

41. Animal forfeit. — The forfeit-payer must go 
to each of the company in turn and ask for the 
name of his favorite animal, and must then 
imitate the cry of that animal. 



HOME PASTIMES 



TOYS AND TOY-GAMES 

AN ^OLIAN HARP 

T^HIS can be made on a long, thin, pine box, 
about four or six inches deep. Fasten to 
each end of the box little bridges, like those 
on a violin, and stretch across them thin strings 
of catgut. At one end fasten the strings to the 
box itself, and at the other to screw-pins. By 
this means the strings can be tightened or loosened 
at will. Place the harp in a current of air, 
and very sweet soft tunes may be obtained. 

ANIMATED SERPENT 

Take a piece of cardboard, firm, but not too 
thick, and draw upon it the form of a coiled-up 
serpent. Carefully cut out the serpent, going 
round and round until you reach the tip of 
its tail. Paint it green and gold in stripes, 
fasten a thread through the tail, and suspend 
it from the mantel, or wherever there is a cur- 
rent of air, and it will twist and writhe as 
though it were alive. 

145 



146 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE DANCING HIGHLANDERS 

Get an old glove and cut the first two fingers 
down to the second joint, slip the glove on to 
the hand, on the two bare fingers put a pair 
of doll's socks, the one for the first finger being 
padded in the toe so as to make the finger as long 
as the second finger. The tips cut from the 
gloves should be used as shoes. 

You must previously have cut out of card- 
board the upper part of a Highlander's figure, 
painted the face, and dressed it in a kilt. This 
must be fastened to the glove, either with glue 
or with stitching, in such a manner that the fingers 
appear like the Highlander's legs. The figure 
can then be made to dance jigs and cut capers 
in a very funny manner. 

THE CORK DANCER 

Cut out the head and bust of a figure in cork ; 
run four stout bristles into this so that it will 
stand upright. Paint the face, put on a cap and 
dress of tissue-paper, then stand it upon the 
sounding-board of a square or grand piano and 
play a lively tune. The vibration will cause 
the figure to dance very quaintly. 



^^ HOME PASTIMES H7 

MAGIC FLUTE 

Take an unused cork that has neither crack 
nor hole in it; place it against the teeth, holding 
it tightly with the lips, and play upon it with 
the handles of two forks. An imitation of the 
sound of a flute will thus be produced, and 
simple airs can be played. 

THE MOCKING CALL 

Cut a small square piece from the leaf of the 
common leek, lay it on a clean board, and scrape 
away a piece of the green, pulpy substance of 
the leaf, being very careful not to injure the skin. 

Place this against the roof of the mouth with 
the skin side down; press it into place with the 
tongue, and blow between the tongue and upper 
teeth. With a little practice, sounds of animals 
and birds can easily be imitated. 

SHOVELBOARD, OR SHUFFLEBOARD 

Take a board, or else use an unpolished table 
that will not suffer by a little scratching. Rule 
a line five inches from each end. Take eight 
pieces of metal or heavy counters, and give two 
each to four plaj^ers. 



148 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

It is usual to play in sides, and the counters 
must be marked so that the four belonging to 
one side may be distinguished from the oppo- 
nents'. 

The counters are placed on the line at one 
end and, turn and turn about, first friend, then 
foe, push or shuffle these toward the opposite 
line. If the counters rest on the line, one point 
is counted ; if they cross the line, two points 
are counted, and if a counter rests at the 
edge of the table, half on, half off, it counts 
three. 

The counters which do not cross the line, or 
which fall off, count no points. Twenty-one 
points is the limit for the game. 

RING THE NAIL 

Drive a number of nails into a board, taking 
care that a nail in the center is very much taller 
than the rest. This is called the king. Some 
small rings are now required ; brass curtain-rings 
answer the purpose very well. Each player has 
so many rings to throw with, and must try to 
throw them over the nails. For every successful 
cast five is counted, unless the king is ringed, 
when twenty is counted. 



HOME PASTIMES 149 

SKIPJACK 

Skipjack IS made from the wishbone of a fowl. 
Clean it well and fix two pieces of strong elastic 
or catgut to the two arms. These must be well 
twisted before being made fast. Then insert a 
piece of stick in the center of the twisted strings^ 
pull the long end of the stick backward, fasten 
it to the pointed arch of the wishbone with a 
piece of cobbler's wax, place the toy on the 
ground, stick downward, and very soon the wax 
will give and *' Jack '' will begin to skip. 

A SUCKER 

Cut a round piece of leather and bore a small 
hole in the center. Through this hole pass a 
string with a knot at one end sufficiently large 
to prevent the string running through. Soak 
the leather thoroughly, then press it against the 
flat surface of some object 5^ou wish to lift. 
When all the air has been excluded you will 
find that the object can easily be lifted by means 
of the sucker. 

JACKSTRAWS AND SPILLIKINS 

This game may be played with straws about 
three inches long, but thin slips of wood of the 



I50 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

same length are far superior, not being so liable 
to break. Forty or fifty of these slips are re- 
quired of three inches, and three or four of six 
inches in length; they should all be rounded at 
one end, and pointed at the other. Some of these 
jackstraws are styled king, queen, bishop, etc., 
and should be distinguished from the others by 
dipping both ends of the straw in red paint for 
the king, and one end for the queen; the bishop 
should differ in color, and he may be painted 
black ; the variations may also be made by putting 
little touches of wax on them instead of colors; 
these distinguished straws have different values 
assigned to them — -as, for instance, four for the 
king, three for the queen, and two for the bishop. 
One player should take up all the jackstraws 
in a bundle, and holding them at a little height 
from the table, let them fall down in a confused 
heap on it; each player must then try alternately 
to take away a jackstraw from the heap without 
moving any of the others, and this is generally 
very easy to accomplish at the first, for the 
top straws are mostly unconnected with the 
rest, but as the players proceed it requires 
some tact to jerk them out, with the help of a 
^' pointer," or piece of wood made pointed for 
the purpose. The player who, at the entire re- 



HOME PASTIMES 15^ 

moval of the heap, has the greatest number of 
straws, wins the game. Should any of the straws 
while being removed shake the others, they must 
be put back into the heap again. It is usual 
in some places, instead of each player removing 
a straw alternately, for one to continue lifting 
up the straws until he happens to shake one, when 
another player takes his turn until he in like 
manner fails, when another tries his fortune; 
and so the game continues, until all the straws 
are Vv^ithdrawn. 

Spillikins is a game founded on that of jack- 
straws, the rules for playing it being precisely 
the same. The spillikins are made of thin pieces 
of ivory cut into different forms, some being 
like spears, others saw^s, boat-hooks, etc. ; of some 
of the patterns there are duplicates, while of 
others only one. Each pattern has a value 
assigned to it, the lowest being five, and the 
highest forty; the numbers do not run in regular 
succession — as five, six, seven, eight — but irregu- 
larly, as five, sixteen, twenty-five. Hooks, made 
of bone, are employed instead of pointers. 

THE CUTWATER 

The cutwater is a circular piece of sheet-lead, 
or tin, notched like a saw round the edge, and 



152 ENTERTAINMENTS. AND GAMES 

having two holes pierced in it at some distance 
from each other, through which is passed a piece 
of string, the tw^o ends being afterward tied 
together. To set the cutw^ater in action the 
doubled string must be alternately pulled and 
slackened. Every time the string is relaxed the 
disk revolves in consequence of the impetus it has 
acquired from the previous pull, and every time 
the string is tightened it w^hirls round in an 
opposite direction, as the doubled string is then 
untwisted. If the edge of this toy be dipped 
in water, it may be made to sprinkle the by- 
standers and the player, hence its name of cut- 
water. 



HOME PASTIMES 



m 



TRICKS 

THE HEIGHT OF A HAT 

T7EW people have any idea of the real height 
of a gentleman's high hat, as you will easily 
discover if you show one to the company. After 
they have viewed the hat, put it out of the room, 
and ask those present to mark what they suppose 
to be the height of it on the wall. 

When this has been done, bring in the hat 
again, and you will find that nearly every one 
is absurdly out in his attempt. 

TO SUSPEND A NEEDLE IN THE AIR 

Place a magnet on a stand in order to raise 
it a little above the level of the table. 

Then bring a small threaded sewing-needle 
close to the magnet, and, to prevent the needle 
attaching itself thereto, keep hold of the end 
of the thread. 

The neeedle, attracted by the magnet, is pre- 
vented by the thread from flying to it, and re- 
mains suspended in mid-air. 
153 



154 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE DANCING EGG 

Get a hard-boiled egg, and place it on the 
reverse side of a smooth polished plate or bread- 
platter. If you now turn the plate round while 
holding it in a horizontal position, the egg, which 
IS in the middle of it, will turn round also, 
and as the pace is quickened, the egg will move 
more and more quickly, until it stands up on one 
end and spins round like a top. In order to 
be quite sure that the experiment will succeed, 
you should keep the egg upright, while it is 
being boiled, so that the inside may be hardened 
in the proper position. 

THE MAGIC THREAD 

Soak a piece of thread in a solution of salt 
or alum. (Of course, your audience must not 
know you have done this.) When dry, borrow 
a very light ring, and fix it to the thread. Apply 
the thread to the flame of a candle: it will burn 
to ashes, but it will still support the ring. 

THE SWIMMING NEEDLES 

There are several ways of making a needle 
float on the surface of the water. The simplest 



HOME PASTIMES i55 

way is to place a piece of tissue-paper on the 
water and lay the needle on it: the paper soon 
becomes soaked with water, and sinks to the bot- 
tom, while the needle is left floating on the top. 

Another method is to hang the needle in two 
slings made of threads, which must be carefully 
drawn away as soon as the needle floats. 

You can also make the needle float by simply 
holding it in your fingers and laying it on 
the water. This requires a very steady hand. 

If you magnetize a sewing-needle by rubbing 
it on a fairly strong magnet, and float it on the 
water, it will make an extremely sensitive com- 
pass, and if you place two needles on the water 
at the same time, you will see them slowly ap- 
proach each other until they float side by side; 
that is, if they do not strike together so heavily 
as to cause them to sink. 

THE OBSTINATE CORK 

Take a small cork, and ask some one to blow 
It into a fairly large-sized ordinary bottle that 
has a neck. This seems to be quite an easy 
matter. 

Whoever tries it will probably blow as hard 
as possible upon the little cork; but, instead of 



156 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

going into the bottle, as expected, it will simply 
fall down. 

The harder the puffs or blow^s, the more 
obstinate the cork will appear to be; and even 
if the effect of blowing gently be tried, it will 
be of no use ; the cork will not go into the bottle 
— much to the am.usement of those who are watch- 
ing. 

The reason why the cork will not go in is this: 
The bottle being already full of air, w^hen the 
cork is blown, more air will be forced into the 
bottle, and consequently the air inside will be 
greatly compressed, and will simply force the 
cork back. 

Here is a simple way of overcoming the diffi- 
culty: Instead of trying to force the cork through 
the compressed air in the bottle, just the contrary 
should be tried; that is, some of the air should 
be sucked out of the bottle; this being done, the 
bottle will become partly emptied, and when the 
outside air rushes in to fill up the empty space, 
it will carry the cork with it to the bottoin 
of the bottle. 

HOW TO LIGHT A CANDLE WITHOUT TOUCHING ITF 

Having allowed a candle to burn till it has a; 
long snuff, blow it out suddenly. A wreath of 



HOME PASTIMES 157 

smoke will ascend into the air. Now if a lighted 
match is put to the smoke at a distance of three 
or four inches from the wick, the fire will run 
down the cloud and relight the candle. 

THE VANISHING DIME 

Stick a small piece of white wax on the nail of 
the middle finger of your right hand, taking care 
that no one sees j^ou do it. Then place a dime 
in the palm of your hand, and tell your audience 
that you can make it vanish at the word of 
command. 

You then close your hand so that the dime 
sticks to the waxed nail. Blow on your hand 
and make magic passes, and cry *^ Dime, begone! '^ 
Open your hand so quickly that no one will 
see the dime stuck to the back of your nail, and 
show your empty hand. To make the dime re- 
appear, you merely close your hand again, and 
rub the dime into your palm. 

THE FORCE OF A WATER-DROP 

Get a match, and m.ake a notch in the middle 
of it, bend it so as to form an acute angle, and 
place it over the mouth of a bottle. 

Now place a small coin on the match, and ask 



158 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

any one to get the coin into the bottle without 
touching either the bottle or the match. 

This is very easy to do. Dip your finger in 
a glass of water, hold it over the place where 
the match is notched, and let one or two drops 
fall on this point. The force of the water will 
cause the sides of the angle to move apart, and 
the opening thus becomes large enough to let 
the coin fall into the bottle. 



THE DANCING PEA 

For this trick, take a piece, two or three inches 
long, of the stem of a clay tobacco-pipe, taking 
care that one end is quite even; with a knife 
or file, work the hole at the even end larger, 
so as to form a little cup. Choose the roundest 
pea you can find, run two small pins crosswise 
through it, put the point of one in the cup of the 
pipe and blow softly through the other end of 
the pipe, throwing back your head while you 
blow, so that 3^ou can hold the pipe in an upright 
position over your mouth. 

The pea will rise, fall, and dance in its cup, 
according to the degree of force you use in 
blowing, but you must take care not to blow too 
hard, or you may blow it away altogether. 



HOME PASTIMES 159 

THE COIN TRICK 

Take a coin in each hand, and stretch out your 
arms as far apart as you can. Then tell your 
audience that you will make both coins pass into 
one hand without bringing your hands together. 

This is easily done by placing one coin upon 
the table and then turning your body round until 
the hand with the other coin comes to where it 
lies. You can then easily pick the coin up, and 
both will be in one hand, while your arms are 
still widely extended. 

TO LIGHT A SNOWBALL WITH A MATCH 

Roll a snowball and put it on a plate. While 
rolling, contrive to slip a piece of camphor into 
the top of it. The camphor must be about the 
size and shape of a chestnut, and it must be 
pushed into the soft snow so as to be invisible — 
the smaller end uppermost, to which the match 
should be applied. 

THE MYSTERIOUS BALL 

This seems to be a plain w^ooden ball with 
a hole bored in its center, through which a string 
is passed. The ball will move lightly up and 



i6o ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

down this cord ; but let some one who knows the 
trick take the string in his hands, and it becomes 
quite a different matter; the bail will move 
quickly or slowly, at command, and, if told to 
do so, will stand still until ordered to move on 
again. 

The reason for this peculiar behavior is that 
inside the ball there are two holes, one of which 
it quite straight, while the other is curved, and 
turns out of the straight hole. 

It is through this curved passage that the cord 
is passed, and you can easily see that to regulate 
the movements of the ball it is only necessary 
to hold the string more or less tightly. If you 
hold the cord perfectly tight, the ball will not 
be able to move at all. 

THE WONDERFUL PENDULUM 

If you fill a wine-glass with water and place 
a thick piece of paper over it so that no air 
can get in, you will find that you can turn the 
glass upside down without spilling a drop of 
water, because the pressure of the air on the 
outside will keep the paper from falling off. It 
IS on this principle that the present pendulum is 
to be made. 



HOME PASTIMES i6^ 

Take a piece of cardboard larger than the 
mouth of the glass; pass a cord through a small 
hole in the center of the card, and fasten it by 
means of a knot on the under side; then carefully 
cover the hole with wax, so that no air may 
get in. 

Place your cardboard over the glass full of 
water, and by making a loop in the end of the 
cord you can hang the glass from a hook in 
the ceiling without any fear of its falling off. 
In order to make sure that no air can get into 
the glass, it is wise to smear the rim with tallow 
before laying the cardboard on. 

CHINESE SHADOWS 

Here is a simple way of making shadow- 
pictures. Place a candle on the table, and fix 
a piece of w^hite paper on the wall at the same 
height from the ground as the light is. Now 
place some non-transparent object, as, for in- 
stance, a large book, between the candle and 
the paper, and on one side of the table place a 
mirror so that it w^ill reflect the light of the 
candle on to the paper on the wall. 

If you now^ put little cardboard figures between 
the candle and the mirror, a shadow will be 



i62 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

thrown on the white paper, and you can move 
your figures about just as you please. 

THE GAME OF SHADOWS 

For this game you require a white sheet to 
be hung up at the end of the room. Then the 
*' shadow-makers ^' take up their places on low 
stools behind the sheet; there must be only one 
lamp in the room, which should be placed about 
six or seven feet behind the shadow-makers. 
Then the shadow-makers drape themselves with 
shawls, or anything handy, and take their places 
so that their shadows are thrown upon the sheet. 
They must of course try to disguise themselves, 
so that the ^' shadow-seekers '* may not be able 
to guess their identity. 

By loosening the hair and letting it fall over 
the face, a girl may appear like a man with a 
beard. Bending the finger over the nose gives 
one a very queer-looking hooked nose in the 
shadow and entirely alters the appearance of the 
face. Covering one's self up in a sheet, and then 
extending the arms, gives one the appearance of 
a large bat. 

As soon as a shadow-maker's identity has been 
guessed he must take his place as a shadow- 



HOME PASTIMES 163 

seeker, and the one who guessed him becomes a 
shadow-maker. The penalty of a glance behind 
on the part of the shadow-seeker is to pay a 
forfeit. 

LIVING SHADOWS 

In order to make these, you must stand in 
the corner of the room, near a mirror. Let some 
one hold a light behind you, so that the shadow 
of your head and shoulders w^ill be thrown upon 
the wall, and also so that the reflected light 
from the mirror will fall at exactly the same spot 
as the shadow of your head. 

If the mirror is now covered with a piece of 
thick paper^ from which two eyes, a nose, and 
a mouth are cut out, a strange effect will be 
produced. In order to make the shadow still 
more lifelike, cut out two pieces of paper, fasten 
one over the mirror, and move the other over it. 
In this way the eyes and mouth of the shadow 
may be made to move. 

TO GUESS THE TWO ENDS OF A LINE 
OF DOMINOES 

For this trick a whole set of dominoes is 
required, the performer taking care to hide one 
of the set, not a double, in his pocket. The 



i64 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

remaining dominoes should be well shuffled, and 
placed according to the ordinary rules of domino- 
games, and the performer undertakes to tell, 
without seeing them, the two numbers forming 
the extremes of the line, set during his absence 
from the room. 

The numbers on the extreme ends of the dom- 
ino-line will be exactly the same as the numbers 
on the domino which the performer has in his 
pocket. 

If he is asked to repeat the trick he should 
be sure to change the hidden domino, or he may 
chance to be found out. 

THE NUT-CATCH 

Tell your audience you will show them that 
which neither they nor any one else ever saw 
before, and which no one will ever see again. 
After every one has tried to guess what this 
can be, produce a nut from your pocket, crack 
it, show the kernel, and ask if any one has ever 
seen it before; then eat the kernel, and ask if 
any one will ever see it again. 

CLICKING PENNIES 

Blindfold a person. Now take two pennies 
between the first finger and thumb of the right 



HOME PASTIMES 165 

hand, insert the first finger of the left hand in 
such a way that when withdrawn the pennies 
will make a clicking sound. Make this sound 
in certain positions and the blindfolded person 
will be unable to tell you from which direction 
it proceeds. 

For instance, if the clicking noise is made at 
the side of the head the one who is blindfolded 
will probably be able to at once detect the posi- 
tion of the pennies. 

But draw an imaginary line through the head 
as though it were to be cut in halves straight 
between the eyes and through the nose and chin^ 
then click the pennies at any point on this 
imaginary line and the person on whom the 
trick is played will probably guess wrongly at 
each attempt. He w^ill think the clicking pro- 
ceeds from the back of his head instead of the 
front. 

LORD dundreary's METHOD OF PROVING HE 
HAD ELEVEN FINGERS 

Begin by counting the fingers of both hands — 
I) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Then count back- 
ward, touching them; 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, on one 
hand ; hold up the other hand and say, " and 
five are eleven.*' 



i66 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE LAMPLIGHTERS 

Two boys kneel down opposite one another, 
each resting on one knee, and holding the other 
leg off the ground; a lighted candle is placed 
in the hand of one of them, and a candle not 
lighted is given to the other ; the latter then tries 
to light his candle from that of the former. 

THE STOOPING-STRETCH 

Chalk a line on the floor, and place the outer 
edge of the right foot on it, and at a little 
distance behind the right foot, put the left heel 
on the line. Then take a piece of chalk in your 
right hand, bend down and pass the right hand 
between your legs and under the right knee, and 
chalk a line on the floor, as far from the former 
line as you possibly can, yet not so far but that 
you can easily recover yourself w^ithout touching 
the ground with your hands, or removing your 
feet from the line. Your knee and body may 
project beyond the chalked line, provided you 
keep your feet properly placed. 

THE PALM-SPRING 

Stand at a little distance from a wall, with 
your face toward it, and lean forward until 



HOME PASTIMES ^ 

you are able to place the palm of your hand 
quite flat on the wall; you must then take a 
spring from the hand, and recover your upright 
position, without moving either of your feet. 
It is better to practise it first with the feet at 
a little distance only from the wall, increasing 
the space gradually. 

TRIAL OF THE THUMB 

Place the inside of the thumb on the edge 
of a table, taking care that neither of the fingers 
nor the palm of the hand touch it, next move 
your feet as far back as you possibly can, and 
then, taking a spring from the thumb, recover 
your standing position, without shifting your 
feet forward. The table should be a heavy one, 
and not upon casters, or the other end should 
be placed against a wall, else in springing back 
you would in all probability push it away and 
fall upon your hands and knees. It greatly 
facilitates the spring if you rock yourself to 
and fro three or four times before you take it; 
and it is best to begin as in the ^^ palm-spring,*' 
with the feet at a little distance from the 
table, increasing the '' trial of the thumb '' by 
degrees. 



i68 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

TUMBLE-DOWN DICK 

A Strong, long-backed old-fashioned chair is 
the best adapted for this feat. Place the chair 
down on the floor, front legs down, and put a 
small piece of money at the end or else about 
the middle of the back. Next kneel on the back 
legs of the chair, and take hold with both hands of 
the sides of the legs near the seat-rail ; then bend 
down and endeavor to touch the back of the chair 
with your face, and take up the piece of money. 
You must be careful not to fall forward, or 
allow the top of the chair to touch the ground. 
The position of the hands may be altered, either 
higher up or lower down the back of the chair, 
as may be necessary. 

TO TAKE A CHAIR FROM UNDER YOU WITHOUT 
FALLING 

In order to perform this feat, you must lie 
along on three chairs. Throw up your chest, 
keep your shoulders down, and your limbs as 
stiff as you possibly can ; then take the center 
chair from under your body, carry it over and 
place it again under your body on the opposite 
side. Although this at first sight appears diffi- 



HOME PASTIMES 169 

cult, yet in reality it is very easy; it is well, 
however, to have a chair of a rather lighter 
construction for the middle one, as you are 
thereby enabled to do it with less strain upon the 
muscles of the body and arm. 

PROSTRATE AND PERPENDICULAR 

Cross your arms on your body, lie down on 
your back, and then get up again, without using 
either your elbows or hands in doing so. 

KNUCKLE DOWN 

This is a very good feat. Place the toes 
against a line chalked on the floor, kneel down 
and get up again without using the hands, or 
moving the feet from the line. 

THE TANTALUS TRICK 

Desire a player to stand with his back close 
to the wall, then place a piece of money on 
the floor, at a little distance in front of him, and 
tell him he sha^l have it if he can pick it up 
without moving his heels from the wall. Al- 
though at first sight it appears very easy to do 



I70 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

this, It will be found impossible, as in bending a 
part of the body must necessarily go back beyond 
the heels, which is of course prevented by the 
wall. 



HOME PASTIMES 



OUTDOOR GAMES 

THE WHEELBARROW RACE 

•^1 "HE wheelbarrows are boys on their hands 
^ and knees. They arrange themselves in a 
row on the lawn, with another boy standing 
behind each one. 

When the signal to start is given, the boy 
who is standing takes hold of the ankles of the 
one in front of him and lifts his knees from the 
ground, causing him to walk on his hands, at 
the same time pushing him forward. 

The pair who first get past the winning-post 
win the race. 

BULL IN THE RING 

A boy is chosen to be Bull. The remainder 
of the players join hands and dance round him. 
The Bull folds his arms, rushes at the circle, 
and tries to break through. H successful, the 
other players attempt to catch him; if he is 
Ciaught, the player who caught him\is Bull next 
time. 

197 



198 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE CAT TIGGY 

As soon as the plaj^ers have agreed to play 
this game they cry: *' The last perched is cat," 
at which every player tries to get a perch, that 
is, to get his feet off the ground. The players 
may stand on a piece of wood, sit on a gate, or, 
in fact, do anything so long as their feet are ofE 
the ground. The last perched is the cat. 

The other players beckon to one another, 
changing places by signal, or going to new perches, 
and the cat has to touch them before they have 
perched themselves. If the cat should succeed 
in touching any one who is off his perch, the 
player touched becomes cat. 

He cannot touch the old cat until the latter 
has been perched once. 

*' HERE GOES UP FOR MONDAY '' 

This game is played by seven children, each 
taking the name of one of the days of the week. 
The players stand facing a high wall. Sunday 
takes the ball, and throwing it high against the; 
wall, calls out the name of one of the players, 
who must try and catch it before it reaches the: 
ground, the others meanwhile running away. 
If the ball is caught, it is thrown against the 



HOME PASTIMES 199 

wall by the catcher, and he in his turn calls 
a name; when a player misses the ball he loses 
a point, or an '' egg," as it is called. He must 
then pick up the ball and throw it at the other 
players, and if one is hit, that player also loses 
an egg, and has in his turn to throw the ball 
against the wall. 

The player who, when throwing the ball at 
the other players, fails to hit one, must himself 
throw the ball against the wall. The loss of 
three ^* eggs '* puts a player *'out''; the last 
one having an egg left wins the game. 

THE SACK-RACE 

For this race each boy is put into a sack, not 
fastened, however, higher than the neck. The 
boy who is to start the race lays them in a row, 
flat upon the ground, and at the signal each 
does his best to roll, hop, or in some way get 
past the winning-post. 

H sacks are not obtainable, the arms should be 
tied to the sides at the elbows and wrists, and 
the legs tied together at the knees and ankles. 

EGG-CAP 

The players, who may number from three or 
four to twelve, arrange their caps in a row 



200 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

against a wall, and put three small stones, called 
*' eggs," into each cap. A player is chosen to 
begin the game. He stands at a distance of 
about ten feet from the wall, and tries to roll a 
ball into one of the caps. If he is successful, 
the boy into whose cap the ball has fallen must 
pick it out and throw it at the other players, 
who in the meantime have run away. If he 
hits a player, that one loses an egg, and must 
then roll at the caps. 

If a player, when rolling, fails to get the ball 
into a cap, he loses an egg, and another player 
takes the ball. The last player having an egg 
left in his cap wins the game. When a player's 
eggs are all gone, he is out of the game, and 
must leave, taking his cap w^ith him. Instead 
of using caps, holes may be dug in the ground, 
but it is, of course, more difficult to get the ball 
into a cap. 

TAG 

Eighteen persons are necessary to play this 
game properly. The players, except two, arrange 
themselves in a ring, two deep, leaving enough 
space between two pairs to allow a person to 
dodge between easily. The two players who are 
out of the ring are called the *' it " and the 



HOME PASTIMES 201 

'' outplayer." The game is for the '' it " to try 
and touch the '' outplayer," who can dodge in 
and out or round the ring, and when he is tired 
or w^ishes to, he can stand in front of one of 
the pairs inside the ring, the outside member of 
which then becomes the '' outplayer/' If the 
*' outplayer " is touched he becomes '' it,'' and 
the previous '' it " must take refuge in front 
of a pair, and so on. 

THE THREE-LEGGED RACE 

This race is run in couples, the right leg of 
one boy being tied tightly to the left leg of 
another at the thigh, knee, and ankle. The 
couple first passing the winning-post win. It 
often happens that those who dash off to be 
first topple over, which enables a slower and 
surer pair to win the race. 

TOUCH WOOD AND WHISTLE 

This is very similar to tag, but any player, 
unless he is touching wood and whistling is 
liable to be ^^ it." Very frequently in the ex- 
citement of the game a boy touches w^ood and 
forgets to whistle, but one is '' no good " without 
the other. 



202 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

''dicky, show a light!" 

This game is a splendid one for a dark night; 
it IS a kind of hare and hounds, in which the 
hare, called Dicky, shows a light to guide his 
hunters. 

The player who takes the part of Dicky is 
provided with a dark lantern, and is allowed a 
few minutes' start. The hunters then go after 
him. and they also carry a lantern, the light of 
which they must show the whole time, while 
Dicky need only show his light about once every 
two minutes. If the hunters get quite astray*, 
and Dicky is too long in showing his whereabouts, 
they cry, '' Dicky, show a light! " He must then 
flash the light in their direction. 

A good Dicky never keeps the hunters too 
long without a light, but dodges round the party 
like a will-o'-the-wisp, first here, then there, 
making the most of his two minutes to get to 
the other side of a hedge or fence, or right 
round the party in an opposite direction. It is 
a good idea to fix upon some boundary beyond 
which Dicky may not go ; he has such advantages 
over the other players that if he can wander 
wherever he likes there is little chance of his 
being caught. 



HOME PASTIMES 



203 



THE PEG-GATHERIXG RACE 



A number of rows of pegs are driven lightly 
into the ground, one row for each player, sufficient 
room being left between the rows for a person 
to run up and dow^n. A basket is placed at 
the end of each row, as in the 
diagram, the players standing at 
the opposite end. At the word 
** Go," the players rush to peg 
I, pull it from the ground, carry 
it to the basket and drop it in, 
then run back to peg 2, and so on, 
carrying each peg separately to 
the basket. The player who first 
puts all his pegs in the basket, 
and then gets back to the place he started from, 
wins the race. 

Stones or potatoes may be placed on the 
ground and used instead of pegs if these are 
difficult to obtain. 




THE MENAGERIE MAN 



n^ach of the players, except tw^o, takes the 
name of an animal, such as lion, leopard, 
panther, etc. ; one of the two remaining is 
called the buyer, and the other the seller. The 



204 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

seller is supposed to own a menagerie, so he 
traces an imaginary cage upon the ground, and 
puts his beasts into it. The buyer then comes to 
the menagerie and pretends to knock at the door. 

The seller asks: ^^ Who knocks? " The bu^^r 
replies : '' A merchant." The seller asks: '^ What 
do you want?" The buyer saj^s: ''To buy an 
animal." The seller then asks: ''How much 
will you pay for it? " The buyer then mentions 
some price — say, ten dollars. 

The seller then invites the buyer to enter, 
asking him at the same time what kind of 
animal he w^ishes to buy. 

If an animal that the showman has is mxen- 
tioned, he tells it to run out, at which it runs 
away from the cage. Before the buyer may run 
after it, he has to pay the price agreed upon, 
giving as many little taps on the hand of the 
seller as he has mentioned dollars. He then 
pursues the animal he has bought; if it can get 
back to the cage without being caught, it takes 
a new name; if, however, the animal is caught, 
the buyer pretends to cut off its ears, after which 
it IS considered to be a dog. The dog or dogs 
have then to help to catch the other animals. 
The game ends when all the players have been 
caught and become dogs. 



HOME PASTIMES 205 

" I SPY " 

This game is a mixture of tag and hide-and- 
seek. The plajers divide themselves into equal 
sideSj each side choosing a captain. The two 
captains decide which side shall hide first, helping 
their sides in hiding and seeking, by telling them, 
good places, and so on. 

The seekers mark out a base, and stay there 
with closed eyes or otherwise so that they cannot 
see w^here the hiders go to conceal themselves. 
The hiders give a whistle or shout to show that 
they are ready. The seekers then begin to look. 
As soon as a hider is seen, the player who sees 
him shouts ''I spy!" and all the seekers rush 
home, for on being called, the hider must come 
out, and he must try to tag a seeker before 
the home is reached. A hider need not wait 
to be called, but can try to tag a seeker whenever 
he sees a chance. The seekers should never pass 
a place where there is the least chance of any 
one being hidden, for if they are cut off from 
home they are sure to be caught. If the seekers 
are succcessful in spying out the hiders without 
being caught they go out to hide, but if most 
of the seekers are tagged the hiders go out 
again. 



2o6 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

WIDDY-WIDDY WAY 

This game is sometimes known as *^ warning." 
A '^ home " is marked out against a wall. One 
of the players is chosen to be the leader, and 
begins the game by taking his place in the home. 
As soon as the leader is ready he clasps his hands 
together, kicks the wall, shouts '^Warning!" 
and starts in pursuit of the other players, as in 
tag, except that his hands must not be unclasped. 
If the leader unclasps his hands he cannot touch 
any player till he has gone home and started 
afresh. If the leader is caught as he returns, he 
must give the one who caught him a ride home 
pick-a-back. 

As soon as the leader touches a player, the 
two rush home to avoid giving ^' pick-a-backs." 
After joining hands, kicking the wall, and shout- 
ing ** Warning!" as before, the two start to- 
gether in pursuit of the others; in this way the 
game goes on, player after player getting caught, 
and having to join the chain. The players who 
are still free try to break the chain without being 
touched in order to get a ride home and to put 
off the time when they must themselves be caught, 
for as soon as the chain is broken the players 
composing it must run home. 



^ HOME PASTIMES 207 

If the playground is a small one It is best 
to arrange for a '' widdy of six '\* that is to say, 
when six are caught they must go in pursuit 
together, but the next one caught must start 
a fresh ^^ widdy." This prevents the chain get- 
ting so long as to stretch right across the ground 
and so to make dodging impossible. 



HARE AND HOUNDS 

Hare and hounds is a good country game. 
Two boys, who should be not necessarily the best 
runners, but the liveliest dodgers of the party, 
represent the hares, and the remainder are the 
hounds. The hares carry with them bags full 
of paper torn up in very small pieces, which 
they scatter behind them as they run, to act 
as scent. By this the hounds track and endeavor 
to capture them. The hares, of course, try 
to mislead them by all sorts of doublings and 
tw^istings, or by going over difficult country. 
The hares are not allowed, by the rules, to 
make false starts at any part of the run, or 
to separate and lay two scents. They are con- 
sidered caught if the scent gives out. 

The hounds will find a little discipline a 
wonderful help to them in baffling the tricks 



2c8 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GABIES 

of the hares. A captain and whipper-in should 
be chosen, the former to lead, the latter to look 
after the stragglers if there happen to be any. 
So long as the scent is strong the whole pack 
simply follow the captain, keeping well together, 
but when he is not sure of his w^ay, he blows the 
whistle which he carries, and the pack halt. The 
whipper-in stands at the last point at which the 
scent can be seen, holding a handkerchief in 
his hand. The pack run round and examine the 
ground to find the lost scent. The moment they 
find it the captain blows his whistle and they 
go off again. 

HOCKEY OR SHINNY 

This game is usually played by twenty-two 
pla3^ers, eleven on each side. Five play as for- 
wards, three as half-backs, two as backs, and the 
eleventh as goal-keeper. The ball is an ordinary 
cricket-ball painted white. 

The ground is rectangular in form, the sides 
measuring lOO yards and 50 yards. The long 
sides are termed side lines, the short sides goal- 
lines. The goals are formed by two upright 
poles, twelve feet apart, with a horizontal bar 
seven feet from the ground, and are placed in 



^^ HOME PASTIMES 209 

the center of each goal-line. Fifteen yards in 
front of each goal a twelve-foot line is drawn 
parallel to the goal-line. Quarter circles are 
drawn from the extremities of this line, with the 
goal-posts as centers. This curve is called the 
striking circle, and the ball must be struck by 
one of the attacking side from a point within the 
striking circle in order that a goal may be won. 

The game is commenced by a '^ bully '' — that 
is, the ball is placed in the center of the field 
and the two opposing center forw^ards strike the 
ground in front of the ball and then each others' 
sticks above the ball. This is done three times. 
Then the game begins. 

When a goal has been scored, and at half 
time, when the sides change over, the ball is 
again started by means of a bully. The only 
stroke allowed in striking the ball is from right 
to left, no left-handed or back-handed strokes 
are allowed. 

A player may stop the ball with any part of 
his body, but must only drive it by means of his 
stick. 

No kicking, collaring, tripping, or rough play 
is allowed in this game. When a ball is driven 
over a side line it must be rolled back by a player 
on the opposite side. 



2 IP ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

When the attacking side hits the ball over 
the goal-line a bully takes place twenty-five yards 
from the spot where the ball crosses the goal- 
line. If the ball is plaj^ed behind by the defend- 
ing side a '' corner " is allowed,, that means a 
full hit, and is taken by the attacking side from 
the nearest corner flag, the attacking side being 
outside the striking circle and the defending side 
behind the goal-line. As soon as the ball is 
struck they may rush forward. 

When a player strikes the ball any one of his 
side nearer the enemy's goal-line than he is ruled 
*' off-side," and must take no part in the game 
unless there be at least three of the enemy between 
him and their goal-line. He cannot become 
*' on-side " again until another player strikes the 
ball. If the rules are broken a '' free hit " is 
given against the offenders. When a free hit is 
taken no member of the offending side is allowed 
wuthin five yards of the ball. 

Two umpires are necessary for this game, one 
on each side. 

DOG-STICK AND SPLENT 

A tongue-shaped piece of w^ood is required 
tapering at one end, rounded at the other, and 



HOME PASTIMES 2i_i^ 

slightly hollo'ved so as to form a cup to hold 
the ball. Instead of the bat a club, called a 
dog-stick, is used — a boundary-line is drawn and 
the player must strike the tongue-shaped end of 
the splent in such a way as to shoot the ball 
up, and then before it falls to the ground he 
must strike it w^ith the club, sending the ball 
as far as possible beyond the boundary-line. The 
other players may stop the ball if they can. 

The farther the ball flies the better for the 
player, as he measures the number of stick-lengths 
from the boundary-line and counts them as points. 

The player is out if he misses the ball, or fails 
to strike it bej^ond the boundary-line, or if he 
is caught out. 

SNOW-GAMES 

It is very easy for boys and girls to invent 
snow-games for themselves; but a few hints as to 
how to set about it may be useful. 

First and foremost it should be remembered 
that snowballs should not be weighted with 
stones or heavy substances, which render them 
dangerous missiles instead of harmless and amus- 
ing ones. 

Freshly fallen snow should be chosen, and 



212 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

before the game commences the players should 
be divided into sides and each side should employ 
all its members to m^ake snowballs as fast as 
they can. It is very unfair for the elder 
members to set the little ones to this work, 
while they are enjoying the fun of aiming the 
balls. 

The side which works the quicker naturally 
has the larger supply of ammunition and stands 
a better chance of winning. 

Lines should be drawn between w^hich the com- 
batants stand to fight, and whichever side drives 
the other side over the line is counted victor. 

JACK, JACK, THE BREAD BURNS 

Two of the players represent a Master baker 
and his man Jack; the remainder of the boys 
seat themselves on the ground, one behind the 
other, and hold each other tightly round the 
waist. These are supposed to represent loaves 
of bread. Suddenly the Master cries out ^^ Jack, , 
Jack, the bread burns,'' and he and his man 
rush at the loaves and try and detach the first 
loaf. If they succeed the loaf becomes theirs 5 
and is placed in the ''shop" (a certain spotr 
chosen previously) for sale, there to await other r 



HOME PASTIMES 213 

loaves. The chief thing for Jack and his Master 
to do is to take the loaves unawares. If, how- 
ever, the foremost loaf succeeds in catching either 
Jack or the Master and holding him so tightly 
that he cannot get away, the one caught must 
become a loaf, but goes to the rear as soon as 
it is decided he is fairly caught. The game con- 
tinues either till all the loaves are caught or 
till Jack and his Master are caught. 



BUCK, BUCK, HOW MANY FINGERS DO I 
HOLD UP? 

Three boys play this game. Master, Buck, and 
Frog. Buck places himself against a wall, bends 
his back, supporting himself by placing his head 
against the Master's stomach. The Master is 
supposed to render Buck as much assistance as 
possible. 

The Frog leaps upon Buck's back and asks 
him — '^ Buck, Buck, how many fingers do I hold 
up?" at the same time holding up some of the 
fingers of his right hand. If Buck guesses cor- 
rectly, he is at once released, if not Frog asks 
him again and again until the right number is 
guessed, when Buck becomes Master, Master be- 
comes Frog, and Frog becomes Buck. 



214 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

THE SERGEANT 

One of the players is chosen as Sergeant and 
takes his station upon a spot from which he is 
not allowed to move. The remainder range 
themselves in a line in front of the Sergeant, and 
are bound to carry out his instructions. His com- 
mands never exceed two: '^ Do as I do," and " Do 
not laugh." This sounds very simple, but as the 
Sergeant makes the most absurd postures he can 
think of, and which his soldiers are bound to 
copy, it is very seldom that all obey the second 
command '^ Do not laugh." Whenever a soldier 
laughs he is turned out of the ranks, and when 
half the soldiers have lost their places the other 
half are entitled to mount their backs and ride 
them, the Sergeant urging on the unwilling steeds 
with a knotted handkerchief. 

DUCK ON THE ROCK 

This is a very good game. A large block of 
stone* is secured and set up. At about fifteen to 
twenty yards from this block a line is drawn. 
The space behind the line is '' home." The 
players provide themselves each with a small 
stone, and taking up their station on the line pro- 
ceed to throw at the block of stone in turn; the 



HOME PASTIMES 2j[5 

one whose stone is farthest from the block be- 
comes Duck. 

He must place his stone on the block of stone 
and the others proceed to try and dislodge it. 
Should the first player succeed in doing this he 
must run and pick up his own stone and en- 
deavor to run back to his home, before Duck can 
replace his stone and touch him. 

If Duck is able to touch him the one touched 
becomes Duck. 

There are usually a goodly number of misses 
before the stone is knocked off the block, and as 
every one of the players is bound to run and 
pick up his stone before running home. Duck is 
almost certain to catch one, although he must re- 
place his stone on the block before doing so. 
If the one caught is very quick, he may sometimes 
catch Duck again as he has to run back, after 
touching any one, get his stone and run home. 
The last one touched always becomes Duck. 

FOLLOW MY LEADER 

One of the players is chosen as leader and the 
rest range themselves in a long row behind him. 
The leader begins to advance and those behind 
must follow w^herever he goes and copy his every 
dction. 



2i6 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

Any boy failing to do this must go to the 
end of the line, and as all the boys prefer the 
front they watch each other most anxiously to 
see if any should fail to carry out the rule. 

When a certain time has elapsed it falls to 
the part of the first boy to become leader and 
the previous leader goes to the rear. It is fairer 
to draw lots as to the order in which the boys 
shall follow, as naturally each one wishes for a 
chance to become leader. 



AUNT SALLY 

This is such an old and popular game that it 
will need very little description. To be correct 
Aunt Sally should have a negress-head adorned 
with a turban, and a smart gown covering her 
wooden body; between her lips is fixed a short 
clay pipe. But any one can rig up an Aunt 
Sally for himself: an ordinary block of wood, 
the upper part of which may be painted to repre- 
sent a face, will serve equally well. A hole must 
be bored in the wood where the lips are painted, 
so that the pipe may be made fast. 

The players take up their stand at twelve or 
twenty yards from the figure, the distance being 
agreed upon between the players and marked out. 



HOME PASTIMES 217 

Upon this mark the players take their stand armed 
with a short thick stick. Each one endeavors 
to throw the stick in such a way that Aunt Sally's 
pipe is knocked out of her mouth. 

For every time this occurs the player scores a 
point. 

The player who gains the most points wins 
the game. 

HIDE-AND-SEEK 

All the players hide except one, who stays 
at the point called home, with his eyes hidden. 
The hiders separate and hide in various places, 
but the last to be hidden cries ''Whoop," and 
the seeker then starts to find them. The hiders 
must try and steal home without being caught by 
the seeker. If they can manage this they can 
all hide again, if not the one caught must become 
seeker. 

FIVES 

In this game the players take turns to hit a 
ball with the hand above a line marked on a 
wall ; sometimes bats are substituted for the hand. 

That is the simple game of fives ; but the more 
complicated kind is played in a court. 



2i8 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

There are two kinds of courts, the Eton court 
and the Rugby court. 

In both courts the players try to hit the ball 
above a line about three or four feet from the 
ground or ledge on the front wall in such a 
way as to prevent their opponents hitting it back 
again over the line before it has touched the 
ground for the second time. 

The game begins by one of the players serving 
the ball by striking it against the wall and 
making it fall into the side of the court where 
his adversary is. The latter returns it and the 
game goes on until one of the players misses 
the ball, or else fails to strike it above the line. 
The miss counts a point for the adversary. The 
game consists of fifteen points; but the rules vary 
according to the different courts in which they 
are played. 

Shoes without nails must be worn for this 
game. 

MARBLES 

The best method of shooting a marble is the 
following: Bend the thumb at the first joint 
and grasp it firmly with the middle finger. Place 
the marble above the thumb and hold it in posi- 
tion with the first finger, then suddenly, having 



HOME PASTIMES 219 

taken good aim, let fly the thumb and the marble 
will be shot forward with considerable force. 



BRIDGE-BOARD 

The bridge consists of a narrow piece of board 
in which nine arches have been cut. 

The arches should be about an inch in height 
and width, rather less in width. 

Numbers are placed over the arches, but it is 
better not to place them in consecutive order — 
they might be — i, 5, o, 6, 2, 4, o, 3, o. 

One of the players becomes bridge-keeper, the 
others take turns to aim at the bridge. If a 
marble passes under one of the arches the player 
who aimed it claims the number of marbles 
marked over it from the bridge-keeper. If he 
fails to shoot through an arch one marble must 
be paid to the bridge-keeper. 

The bridge-keeper should be changed every 
round. 

BOUNCE-EYE 

A circle, about a foot in diameter, is made 
on the ground; every player subscribes a marble 
to make a pool, and these marbles are placed 
in the center of the circle. 



220 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

The players draw lots to decide the order in 
which they shall play. The first player takes 
a marble between his first finger and thumb, and 
holding it near his eye, takes aim at the center 
of the marbles and lets the one he is holding 
drop. 

As many marbles as he can scatter outside 
the ring he may claim for his own; but if he 
does not succeed in putting any outside the ring 
the one he made the attempt with must remain 
forfeit to swell the pool. 

When all the marbles in the pool have been 
won the game is ended. 

HANDERS 

A small hole is made in the ground about a 
foot from a wall, or background of any kind. 
The players decide the order in which they shall 
play by each rolling a marble toward the hole 
and then fixing the order by playing according 
to their position, those nearest the hole playing 
first, and so on. The players then subscribe so 
many marbles each and the first player takes 
the whole of them in his hand and rolls them 
toward the hole. 

As many as fall into it he claims for his own ; 



HOME PASTIMES 22^ 

they must fall straight in ; any that rebound into 
it from striking against another marble do not 
count. 

Then the next player takes the remainder of 
the marbles and tries his luck, then the third, 
fourth, and so on. When the marbles are all 
used up, or very much reduced in number, a 
fresh supply must be subscribed, so that every 
player may try his luck. 

TEETOTUM SHOT 

This game is very much liked by boys. A 
teetotum is set spinning, and for the privilege 
of shooting at this each player must pay the 
one in charge of the teetotum one marble. If 
the shot hits the teetotum the number uppermost 
on it when it falls shows the number of marbles 
which the one in charge must pay the successful 
player. 

BOUNCE ABOUT 

This game is to be played by two, three, or 
four players, never more. Each player must 
know his own marble or " bouncer." The first 
•player throws down his bouncer. No. 2 pitches 
his bouncer at No. I's. If he hits. No. i must 



222 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

pay him a marble; not the one struck, as it 
carries a distinctive mark on it and must remain 
on the ground; No. 3 then tries, and then No. 
4. No. I then picks up his bouncer and tries 
his luck, and so on. 

When there are two or three bouncers on the 
ground the owner of the one struck must pay. 

EGGS IN THE BUSH 

This is not a game of skill, but merely a 
guessing game. Each player in turn holds the 
" eggs.'' He may have one or half a dozen 
marbles, if he can hold them, and the opponents 
guess in turn how many eggs he holds. 

Those who have guessed correctly can claim 
the number of marbles from the egg-holder; 
those who guess incorrectly must pay the differ- 
ence in the numbers. For instance, if any one 
says *' two,'' and the holder has three, he must 
pay the holder one. 

THREE HOLES 

Three holes are made in the ground, each of 
them being about an inch deep and two inches, 
in diameter. They should be about a yard apart, 



HOME PASTIMES 223 

either in a line or any other position; but they 
must be numbered i, 2, and 3. A starting-line 
two yards from the nearest hole is fixed and the 
first player aims for hole i. 

If he succeeds, each of the other players must 
give him a marble and he may then try for 
hole 2, and again hole 3 if he is so fortunate^ 
Each success entitles him to another shot. 

If the first player fails to make the first hole, 
or having made that misses another, his taw or 
marble must remain on the ground. The other 
players are then allowed to aim at it and take 
another stroke off it; if they succeed, the owner 
of the taw must ransom it by an ordinary marble. 
No taw may be hit more than once by the same 
player. 

I 

ONE HOLE 

Either a cap is placed upon the ground or a 
round hole is dug, it does not matter which. 
Each player takes ten marbles in his hand and 
tries to throvv^ the whole of them into the cap 
or hole. He reclaims all that go in, but leaves 
those that fall outside where they drop. 

The players throw in turn; any player who 
gets the whole ten marbles into the cap takes 
the marbles that are lying around. 



224 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

KNOCK OUT 

The players draw lots for the order in which 
they shall play. A line is then drawn two yards 
from a wall. The first player takes a marble 
and rolls it against the wall, the second follows 
suit and then the rest. Any one of them whose 
marble in the rebound strikes another marble 
may claim all the marbles on the ground. 

If a ball rolls over the line, it must be re- 
placed on the line at the point where it crossed it. 

LONG TAW 

This game is for two players only. The first 
player places a marble on the ground, the second 
places another two yards ofi in a line with it. 
At two yards' distance from the last marble 
the first player shoots another, which is generally 
a prize marble or taw. If he hits the marble 
nearest to him he pockets it and has a shot at 
the next, which he may also pocket. Then the 
marbles are set again and the second player tries 
his luck. 

If the first player should miss, the second 
player may aim at all three of the marbles on 
the ground, including his opponent's taw. 



HOME PASTIMES 225 

PICKING THE PLUMS 

Two Straight lines are drawn parallel to one 
another, from four to eight feet apart. Each 
player places two or three marbles, which are 
called plums, upon one of the lines, leaving 
about an inch between them. The players in 
turn knuckle down at the other line and shoot 
at the plums, those hit being kept by the success- 
ful shooter, but a second shot is not allowed till 
the next round. 

If a player fails to hit a plum, he must add 
one to the row to be shot at. 

RING-TAW 

P This game is somewhat like the previous one. 
A circle about a foot in diameter is drawn on 
a piece of smooth ground or asphalt; each player 
puts an agreed-on number of marbles in the 
circle, as nearly as possible at equal distances 
from one another. Around this ring another 
must be drawn at a distance of from six to seven 
feet; the circle is called the taw-line. 
I The first player starts from any point on this 
' line, and shoots at the marbles in the inner circle ; 
if he knocks one out and it goes outside the 



226 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

larger ring he takes it, and may shoot again 
from the place where the marble he originally 
shot with stops, and may continue to shoot until 
he fails to knock a marble out. 

Whenever a player fails to knock a marble 
from the circle his ow^n marble must remain 
where it stops, unless it rolls out of the outer 
circle, in which case he may pick it up. The 
players follow one after the other, keeping the 
same order throughout the game, one succeeding 
another as soon as he fails to knock a marble 
from the ring. 

The marbles that have been shot and which 
remain in either of the rings are treated in the 
same way as the marbles originally put in the 
small ring. 

The game goes on until both rings are clear. 

PYRAMIDS 

The marbles for making a pyramid are sup- 
plied by one boy, who charges one marble a 
shot to every boy who wishes to play. A ring 
a foot in diameter is drawn upon the ground, 
and in the center three marbles are placed, 
arranged in a triangle, with a fourth on the 
top of them, forming a pyramid. Any marbles i 



HOME PASTIMES 227 

knocked out of the ring become the property of 
the shooter, who also retains the marble he 
shot with, even if it remains in the ring, should 
he knock one out; but if his marble stops in the 
ring without knocking another out, it is claimed 
by the owner of the pyramid. The players shoot 
in rotation whether they w^in or lose. The 
pyramid must be remade each time it is knocked 
down. 

SPANNERS 

This is a good game for two players only. 
The first player shoots a marble, and the second 
tries to shoot his marble against it, or within 
a span of it. The players shoot alternately, but 
when one is successful he has another shot, and 
the other player pays him a marble. 

LEAP-FROG 

This IS the simplest and at the same time 
one of the best of overback games. The players 
stand behind each other, forming a long line; 
the first player in the line makes a back, the 
second leaps over, and makes a back a few 
feet farther on, the first one still remaining 
down. The third player goes over first one 



228 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

and then the other, forming another back in 
the same manner as the second, and so on until 
all the line are down. Then the boy who made 
the first back starts again, and leaps each of 
the backs and makes another back at the end, 
the next player does the same, and thus a con- 
tinually advancing line of backs is formed. 

If the players are anxious to get over the 
ground quickly they can run a dozen yards 
or so before ** going down/' The whole fun 
of the game lies in its being played smartly and 
with spirit. 

FLY 

In this game a leader and a boy to make 
first back are chosen. The leader does som.e 
trick as he leaps the back, which the other 
players must exactly follow; any player making 
a mistake takes the place of the one who is 
giving the back. 

The variations are almost numberless, but one 
or two may be mentioned: for instance, to fly 
the back with the left hand only, or to place 
a cap on the back as you leap and pick it off 
before touching the ground. 

The back as soon as released takes the place 
of the leader, who becomes second player. 



HOME PASTIMES 229 

TOM tiddler's ground 

A line is drawn to separate Tom Tiddler's 
Ground from the rest of the playground or field. 
Tom Tiddler takes up his position in this space 
and tries to touch any one who intrudes upon 
it. Any player he touches becomes a prisoner 
and must stand behind Tom Tiddler until a 
comrade comes to rescue him. To release the 
prisoner, the rescuer must touch him without 
being previously touched by Tom; if, however, 
Tom touches the rescuer first, he also becomes 
a prisoner. The whole spirit of the game lies 
in there being plenty of invaders, and in the 
prisoners being rescued quickly. 



I 



MULBERRY BUSH 

"Here we go round the mulberry bush, 
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush j 
Here we go round the mulberry bush 
On a cold and frosty morning. 

• * This is the way we wash our hands, 
Wash our hands, wash our hands j 
This is the way we wash our hands 
On a cold and frosty morning. 

•*Here we go round the mulberry bush, 
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush 5 



230 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

Here we go round the mulberry bush 
On a cold and frosty morning. 

**This is the way we wash our clothes, 
Wash our clothes, wash our clothes ; 
This is the way we wash our clothes 
On a cold and frosty morning. 

• *'Here we go round the mulberry bush, 
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush 5 
Here we go round the mulberry bush 
On a cold and frosty morning. 

**This is the way we go to school, 
We go to school, we go to school 5 
This is the way we go to school 
On a cold and frosty morning. 

* * Here we go round the mulberry bush. 
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush ; 
Here we go round the mulberry bush 
On a cold and frosty morning. " 



The children form a ring, all joining hands 
and dancing round while singing the first verse. 
When they come to the last line of the verse 
they unclasp hands and twirl rapidly round and 
then stand still and commence singing the second 
verse, suiting the action to the word, that is to 
say, pretending to wash their hands. 

When that is finished the first verse is sung ; 
again as a chorus, the dancing commences afresh, , 



HOME PASTIMES 231^ 

and the first verse is repeated as a chorus after 
each different verse. 

The verses may be varied and carried on 
for any length of time: '^ This is the way we 
comb our hair '\- or, *^ This is the way we sweep 
the floor," and so on, just as long as the leader 
of the game fancies. 

When the children '' go to school," they should 
walk two and two, very quietly, but if the leader 
chooses to suggest, '' This is the way we come 
out of school," they should jump and skip about. 

j RING O' ROSES 

I This is a game for very little children. They 
I form a circle, holding hands, and walk round 
I singing the following verse: 



'*Ring-a-ringo' roses, 
A pocket full of posies, 
Hush-a, hush-a, we'll all tumble down." 

When they sing, '' We'll all tumble down," 
over they go, roly-poly on the grass. Then they 
get up again, and the game begins afresh. 

TOP-GAMES 

To spin a top, take a stout piece of string with 
a knot about an inch from one end. To the 



232 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

other end fasten a metal button. Unravel the 
end of the string below the knot and slightly 
wet it. Take the top in the left hand and lay 
the wetted end of the string along the top, 
just above the peg, and hold it tight with the 
thumb. Now take the string in the right hand 
and wind it round the top. When you have 
wound up all the string, put the button between 
the middle and third fingers, place the thumb 
under the peg and the first and middle finger 
on the top. 

Take care to keep the string tight. Hold 
the top high above your head, throw it from 
you with a bold swing, and you will find the 
top will spin well. 

PEG IN THE RING 

This IS the best game with peg-tops. A large 
ring, say a yard in diameter, is marked, with a 
smaller one, a foot in diameter, within it. 

A player begins the game by spinning his top 
in the smaller ring; the next pegs at it, trying 
to split it. If a top when it stops spinning 
remains in either of the circles, it must be placed 
** dead " in the inner one for the other players 
to peg at; if, however, it rolls clear, as it should 



HOME PASTIMES 233 

do if well spun, the player spins it again. Every 
player spins again as soon as he can get his top, 
and is allowed to peg at every top, dead or spin- 
ning, within the inner ring. 

When a player successfully splits a top he 
keeps the peg as a trophy. 

CHIP-STONE 

This is another very good game with peg- 
tops. A small ring, a foot in diameter, is drawn 
upon the ground, into which each player puts 
a marble. The players spin their tops outside 
the circle, pick them up in their hands still spin- 
ning, and try, by slipping the tops out of their 
hands, or ^^ chipping,'' to knock marbles out of 
the ring. Any marbles chipped out become the 
property of the player knocking them from the 
ring. 

r WHIP-TOPS 

The top is started by a twist of the hands, and 
kept going by whipping. A good deal of fun 
may be derived from this if several players start 
in a row, and race with their tops to a certain 
point some distance off. Another game is for 



234 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

two players to start their tops from opposite 
points and try to whip them against each other; 
the player who is able to knock his opponent's 
top over with his own, and at the same time to 
keep the latter spinning, is the winner. 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 
ENTERTAINMENTS 



■\X 70RKERS in any church or social organiza- 
tion, who have attended meetings called 
to arrange for an entertainment, have all, it 
seems safe to say, experienced a feeling akin to 
despair when the question was asked, '^ What 
shall we give? '^ There are no especially new 
suggestions, but these paragraphs give the ex- 
perience of old favorites that are usually profit- 
able, with a few novelties in details, decorations, 
etc. 

Every such entertainment, whatever its charac- 
ter may be, should have a reception committee. 
The members chosen should possess a genial man- 
ner. It is also well for one among them to be 
well acquainted with everybody, for a ready 
recognition saves much embarrassment to 
strangers. 

NEW year's dinner 

The New Year's dinner took root and 
flourished so successfully in the small towns that 
235 



236 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

it became one of the j^early festivals, one of its 
chief charms being the relief it afforded to those 
upon whose shoulders rested the burden of 
cooking the holiday dinner at home. The menu 
was turkey, cranberry sauce or jelly, potatoes, 
celery or slaw, coffee, cheese and crackers, with 
ice-cream and cake as extras. It is very neces- 
sary to have some expert carvers present, as close 
carving makes an enormous difference in the 
profit. 

NEW year's drill 

A pretty New^ Year's drill is to have four 
young girls, dressed as the four seasons, come on 
the stage and go through a few figures; then 
another, representing the Year, comes on the stage 
supported by twelve little girls, each appropri- 
ately dressed to represent a month. The Year is 
led by the Months and Seasons to a throne in the 
center, a chorus appropriate to the occasion is 
sung, and then the four Seasons crown the Year 
with wreaths emblematic of each season, the 
Months meanwhile joining hands and dancing 
around the group, or marching in the center to 
slow music. When the Year is crowned, all ad- 
vance to the center of the stage, the Year in the 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 237 

middle, flanked by the Seasons and Months, and 
the curtain falls. 



MEN S SUPPER 

When the men in a certain parish proposed to 
give a supper, which they should prepare and 
serve, the ladies smiled in a superior way, and 
agreed to come out of sheer curiosity. But on 
the night of the supper curiosity gave way to real 
appreciation of the spick-and-span w^aiters in 
white coats and aprons, the daintily set table, and 
the splendid system which prevailed everywhere. 
In some instances the men did not prepare the 
contributions, but the credit of the planning and 
serving, the setting of the table, the washing of 
the dishes, the management of the kitchen, down 
to the most minute detail, belonged wholly to 
them ; and it is a fact worth recording that nearly 
tw^o hundred and fifty people were satisfactorily 
served that evening, and that not a single w^oman 
was asked to do any of the work. The men 
chose, as head of the whole supper, one of their 
number, who appointed a head waiter with eight 
assistants. The head waiter saw that everything 
w^ent well in the dainty room, and that each 
guest who sat down had a well-cleared space be- 



238 ENTERTALNMENTS AND GAMES 

fore him, with clean knife and fork, and that no 
one's wants were neglected. The head man was 
in the kitchen. He made the coffee, saw that 
things were kept hot, and that the plates and 
dishes of food went into the dining-room looking 
as tempting as possible. He had two assistants to 
carve, and two to wash dishes. One young man, 
w^ho felt that he had no talent for cooking or 
serving, begged from the ladies various articles 
for a Common-Sense booth. He netted about 
thirty dollars. 

THE BABY SHOW 

The baby show is very ridiculous. Only 
grown people take part in it. They come dressed 
as babies, from those in long clothes to the two- 
year-old in kilts. They are arranged about the 
room, if possible, in imitation cradles or baby 
coaches, propped up on pillows, or held in their 
fond mother's arms. An admission fee is 
charged, and judges appointed w^ho award prizes 
to the best representatives of babyhood. 

GUESSING SOCIAL 

For a guessing social, four spaces on the wall 
are covered with pictures representing (i) 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 239 

famous men and women, (2) famous buildings, 
(3) authors of to-day, (4) famous men and 
women of our own time. Little programmes, 
with pencil attached, should be given to each 
competitor. Every picture is numbered, and op- 
posite the corresponding number on the pro- 
gramme the name of the person or building repre- 
sented is written. The person guessing the great- 
est number correctly is adjudged whinner. Prizes 
may be offered, 

ANOTHER GUESSING SOCIAL 

Another guessing social may be called the five 
senses social. The tables are arranged, the first 
w^ith a number of articles of food on it. Each 
person is blindfolded and led up to the table, and 
required to tell the various articles by the sense 
of taste. The second table has bottles or jars 
containing such things as vinegar, etc., which 
have to be designated by smelling. The third ex- 
hibit may consist of various kinds of fabric which 
are to be discriminated from one another by the 
sense of touch, the guesser being, of course, blind- 
folded ; and on a fourth may be arranged a large 
number of articles, which each person is allowed 
to look at for one or two minutes and then re- 



240 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

quired to write a list of them from memory. 
Table No. 5 has different tests for hearing. It 
is extremely interesting to note how much more 
acute somiC senses are than others, in each person. 

A SATURDAY SALE 

A Saturday sale, given by a guild of girls, 
netted a nice little sum of money by the sale 
of ice-cream and other dainties. These sales 
were held on a prominent lawn every Saturday 
evening throughout the summer. People bought 
delicacies for Sunday's dinner, such as pies, cakes, 
and candies, while passers-by, and driving parties 
attracted by the Chinese lanterns and notices that 
ice-cream was served there, paused to refresh 
themselves, and very often proved to be good 
customers for the wares the girls had for sale. 

A CHICKEN-PIE SUPPER 

A chicken-pie supper always pays well. The 
pies should be made in dishes large enough to 
serve from eight to ten persons, and may be 
served with mashed potatoes, pickles, bread and 
butter, and coffee; ice-cream and cake are extra. 

Another magnet to draw a company is a 



¥ 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 241 

chicken-salad supper. Hot biscuits, pickles, and 
coffee will be appropriate with it; or, for a slight 
increase in charge, fried oysters will be found an 
appetizing accompaniment; or fried chicken may 
form the basis of the supper. 



OYSTER SUPPER 

The oyster supper, serving the favorite bivalves 
in the various forms of fried, panned, and scal- 
loped, with cold slaw and celery, potato chips, 
rolls and butter, and coffee, is justly popular. 

AN ORCHARD TEA 

An orchard tea was given by a lady whose 
orchard adjoined the house, at the season when 
the trees were '' fruited deep." It proved to be 
a very delightful occasion, and one that the 
summer visitors said was one of the unforgettable 
evenings of the summer. The young girls, 
dressed in attractive summer dress and dainty 
white aprons, waited on the tables, which were 
scattered over the lawn, and not a few passers-by 
turned in for ice-cream and cake. The hostess, 
being of a romantic turn of mind as well as 



242 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

hospitably inclined, had chosen a moonlight 
evening, which added length and enjoyment to 
the occasion. The apples from the orchard were 
sold in small baskets prettily decorated, at a 
quarter apiece. 



A FOURTH-OF-JULY LAWN TEA 

A Fourth-of-July lawn tea can be made not 
only pretty, but very profitable, the decorations 
being of flags and Chinese lanterns, the waitresses 
attired in red, white, and blue, and the tables 
adorned with flags becomingly draped, or covered 
with crepe paper of national colors. A fitting 
close for such an evening may be an exhibition of 
fireworks and the singing of patriotic songs. 



A JAPANESE FAIR 

A Japanese fair might be held on a good-sized 
lawn. Arches should be built forming an arcade 
and strung with Japanese lanterns. Leave a 
pathway from six to eight feet wide, and have 
booths on each side of this aisle for the sale of 
Japanese or fancy articles, cakes, pies, and 
candles. Upon another part of the lawn place 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 243 

tables to accommodate those who are to be served 
with ices and cake. 



COLOR SOCIAL 

The w^ay to give a color social is this: Select 
the color which shall prevail — pink, green, violet, 
orange, or lemon. Let all your decorations be of 
the color you select, and request every one who 
comes either to dress in that color or else be 
prominently decorated with it. The refreshments 
must be, as far as possible, of a corresponding 
shade. The lamps, or the globes on the 
chandelier, should be shaded with the color, and 
the color scheme adhered to in every possible 
way. 

BIRTHDAY SOCIAL 

A birthday social was given by a guild in a 
country church where three persons' birthdays 
fell on the same day ; so it was decided to make it 
not only memorable, but profitable to the church. 
A social was planned like this: A hall was se- 
cured ; the four corners were curtained off, and 
a fee charged for admittance to each one of the 
four exhibits. In one was a tableau of the three 
Fates: Clotho sat by the spinning wheel, Lachesis 



244 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

held the thread, and Atropos held the shears. An 
owl was perched above, and on the wall was this 
inscription in black letters: g 

" Spin, spin, Clotho spin, 

Lachesis twist and Atropos sever; 
Sorrow is strong, and so is sin, 
But only God endures forever. ' * 

In the next booth dwelt a gypsy who read 
palms and sold fortunes in tiny envelopes, where 
the birthday of the buyer furnished the horoscope. 
The statue of Liberty stood in one alcove, that 
of Peace in another. Large cakes, containing each 
a ring, a button, and a ten-cent piece, were cut 
and served with the ice-cream. The feast was 
free of charge. 

BIRTHDAY PARTY 

The birthday party may take the form of a 
masque of the four seasons. Everybody who 
comes represents the season in which his or her 
birthday occurs, and all come appropriately 
dressed or decorated for the season. The older 
people might be required to guess from the cos- 
tumes to what season each belonged. This is a 
fitting time for a drill or kermess. 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 245 

A RAG-BEE 

The rag-bee form of social gives its profits in 
several ways. First, the ladies bring their rags to 
the place appointed for the meeting; some cut 
them into strips and others sew the strips to- 
gether, while others, again, wind the strips into 
balls. When a sufficient number of balls are 
made, they are sent to a weaver and woven into 
rugs, which sell from one dollar apiece upward. 
Supper is served, to which the men come, and 
for which they pay a stated sum. The evening 
is passed with music and conversation, or any 
form of entertainment considered suitable. 



VALENTINE SOCIAL 



I 

B The valentine social can be given a week or so 
before Saint Valentine's day. The room may be 
strikingly decorated with red hearts strung on 
wires everywhere. Booths should be prettily 
decorated in crepe papers, or cheese-cloth — if pos- 
sible heart-shaped — and have gaily dressed girls 
behind them selling valentines, or candy, or ice- 
cream and cake. Admission is charged, music is 
provided, and perhaps recitations, and every one 
that is present is expected to buy valentines. 



246 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

ANOTHER VALENTINE PARTY 

Another valentine party may commence with 
a game of hearts. The choosing of partners is 
accomplished like this: Each lady is presented 
with a red heart and requested to write her name 
on the back. These hearts are pinned onto a 
sheet, which has been hung for the purpose. The 
gentlemen, one by one, in turn shoot at the hearts 
with bow and arrow; three shots are allowed, un- 
less one is pierced by the first shot. If the archer 
pierces any, he unpins the heart and goes off in 
search of its owner, who is to be his partner. 

The supper-table is to be decorated in the pre- 
vailing color. A piece of red ribbon about eight 
inches wide is carried down the center of the 
table, on the white cloth. If possible, let the 
bonbon dishes be in the shape of hearts. The 
menu may be creamed chicken or 03'Sters, or both, 
rolls and butter. The ice-cream is served on 
heart-shaped plates, or as individual ices, in the 
shape of hearts. With the coffee comes the dis- 
tribution of favors on the valentine order. If 
there is to be a floral centerpiece, red carnations 
would be appropriate. 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 247 

THE COBWEB SOCIAL 

The cobweb social is not only very pretty but 
also exciting, to onlookers and participants alike. 
It requires a good deal of preparation. It may 
be appropriately given as a Washington's Birth- 
day affair. Buy two or three balls each of red, 
white, and blue string, then loop one end of a 
ball over a tack stuck in the wall, and run it 
back and forth from wall to wall and from one 
room to another, securing it each time it reaches 
the wall by winding it once or twice about the 
tack in the form of a huge spider's web. Have as 
many of these webs as possible, about a hundred 
feet long each, and all ending at a web made of 
a large embroidery ring, or some sort of hoop, 
suspended from the center of one of the rooms 
or some other convenient place, the end of each 
string being attached to the sides of the frame. A 
fee is charged for unwinding each web. When 
all are ready, cut the ends at the web in the 
center, giving each competitor an end of string. 
The object is to find the beginning of the string 
first, winding the string into a ball. Various 
strings, of course, cross and recross each other, 
sometimes looped to the same tacks back and 
forth from room to room; this only makes the 



248 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

race all the more exciting. The first one to un- 
wind hfs web and present it wound into a ball is 
the prize winner. ^i 

A children's sleigh-ride 

Quite a little sum of money was made by a 
children's sleigh-ride. Any child can buy a ticket. 
It was arranged that the ride should extend as far 
as a house three miles in the country, where the 
children were served with chocolate and cake. 
After a rest, the party returned home. 

THE FISH SUPPER 

The fish supper, with its decoration of nets 
draped on the walls, and oars and fishing rods 
crossed where taste dictated, was very unique. 
The centerpieces on the tables were either of 
bowls of goldfish or a mirror surrounded with 
seashells. The menu may be oysters scalloped, 
panned, or fried, lobster or salmon salad, sardines 
either cold or laid on toast in a hot oven, and 
ices and cake. 

TABLEAUX 

Advertisement tableaux are very amusing. 
They should be selected from well-known ad- 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 249 

vertisements, which are to be guessed by the 
audience. Each advertisement is numbered; the 
audience write what they believe is the correct 
answer, on paper. These papers are gathered 
up after the tableaux are over, and a committee 
decide upon the prize winner. While the de- 
cision is being made there might be an advertise- 
ment-drill or march. Or charades might be 
enacted and guessed, the acts representing dif- 
ferent parts of well-known advertising wording. 

We must not overlook the old favorites, straw- 
berry and peach festivals. 

CAKE AND CANDY SALE 

Cake and candy sales are always profitable 
apart from booths at the bazaar. People living 

1 in the country are glad to be relieved from mak- 
ing cake, and every one enjoys home-made candy. 
Besides, it gives the young people an opportunity 

i to do something for the organization in which 

\ they are interested. 

HANDKERCHIEF SALE 

A very profitable sale before Christmas is a 
; handkerchief sale. Beg all the handkerchiefs you 



250 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

can from friends outside the town, and for the 
rest see what the local or city merchants can do 
for you. Have stocks, sachets, aprons, cushions, 
and dainty lingerie made from handkerchiefs. 
Silk handkerchiefs, or those with drawn-work 
borders, can be sold for high prices at a fete of 
this kind. 

POUND-PARTY 

In giving a pound-party, the articles offered 
for sale are wrapped in packages each weighing 
exactly a pound. These are sold at so much a 
pound, and much amusement ensues when they 
are opened. 

CLIPPING-PARTY 

The clipping-party is similar. A number off 
parcels of all shapes and sizes, and containing all I 
sorts of articles, are suspended on strings. Each 
purchaser is allowed to choose his parcel, which 
is then cut off its string on payment of the regular 
fee. 

One small organization raised about fifty dol-l 
lars in this way : Tiny silk bags ( about two inches 
long) were made and sent to all members, re-: 






CHURCH AND SOCIETY 251 

questing them to inclose a nickel for every foot 
of their height and a cent for every extra inch. 
Get some one to write an appropriate verse ex- 
plaining the use of the bag. This may be given 
in combination with a tea or bazaar. 

DAISY TEA 

For a daisy tea have the room decorated with 
ferns and daisies. If possible, have the napkins 
of the color of the flower scheme. Let the butter 
be in daisy form. The white menu cards should 
have a daisy pasted on the outside, and should 
have a bow of yellow ribbon. The menu may be 
chicken salad, rolls, olives, orange cake, and ices. 

FLOWER BAZAAR 

For a flower bazaar, the children and others 
are asked to sow seeds and bulbs in flower-pots or 
boxes, and to bring the plants to the church for 
sale just after Easter. This makes a very nice 
way of raising money for missions, besides being a 
very pretty bazaar. 

HOLDING A BAZAAR 

Holding a bazaar in a vacant house has many 
advantages. Each room can be put to a lucrative 



252 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

use. It should hardly seem necessary to remind 
church members that raffling articles off, taking 
chances on goods sent for sale, or in any way mak- 
ing such affairs matter of chance, is most properly, 
although plainly, described by the generic term of 
gambling, and should hardly be countenanced by 
church members anywhere, least of all at a fair 
or bazaar given under the auspices of the church. 

SroE-SHOWS 

For bazaar side-shows, a good one is the pound- 
party, already given; and also the express office, 
which differs from the pound-party in that the 
parcels are all of different sizes, and for a fee 
of ten cents one is handed out to the purchaser. 

The art gallery is another side-show. The 
various articles are grouped to represent pic- 
tures; for instance, one number is called the four 
seasons. This is represented by a tray containing: 
mustard, pepper, vinegar, and salt. Others willl 
readily suggest themselves. 

Weighing-scales are another source of profit 
Every one is charged five cents, and given a card."! 
upon which is marked his correct weight and a; 
fortune. P 

A very good supper for a bazaar in winter ial* 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 253 

served at a booth at which one or two chafing- 
dishes are in evidence, in which Welsh rabbit is 
made and served with coffee. A reasonable 
charge is made. 

dolls' millinery show 

The booth for the dolls' millinery show is made, 
like a round counter with three windows. On 
the counter stand tiny hatracks, with trimmed 
and untrimmed dolls' hats for sale. Hatpins, 
socks, necklaces, and handkerchiefs for dolls are 
strewn about, and the little girls have charge 
of it. 

PHOTOGRAPH-GALLERY 

A room may be set aside for a photograph-gal- 
lery, in charge of some one skilled in the use of 
the camera. This may be arranged for single 
photographs or groups. 

In addition to the articles offered for sale^ 
various other devices may be resorted to for in- 
creasing the returns. For instance, a tulip-bed^ 
which is made by laying on the floor boards a 
foot high and large enough to represent a flower- 
;bed. Fill the bed with sawdust and plant tulips, 



254 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

which may be made of tissue or crepe paper. At 
the root of each is a package buried in the saw- 
dust. For the payment of a certain sum agreed 
upon by the committee, each purchaser is en- 
titled to pull up his tulip with the package 
attached to its root. 

A vegetable-stand also represents its own 
charm. Within the turnips, beets, and other 
vegetables offered for sale is hidden some trinket. \ 
The price may vary according to the contents. 
It is well not to fill the same kind of vegetables 
with the same articles. 

Fruit of some kind — peaches, apples, or oranges 
— made of silesia, stuffed with cotton, and hung 
on a tree, is even a prettier receptacle for trinkets 
than vegetables. 

TABLEAU OF MOTHER GOOSE 

A children's tableau of Mother Goose has beei. 
given with great success. This requires a stage. 
One fat little fellow of four represents Jack 
Horner. The curtain rises, and displays him, 
sitting in a corner eating a large pie, while a 
voice from behind the scene sings the rhyme. 
When the singer comes to the line, ^^ He put inL^ 
his thumb and pulled out a plum,'' Jack takesJL 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 255 

out a plum and holds it high above his head, the 
singer pausing while the plum is exhibited. 

'' Mary, Mary, quite contrary/' A half-dozen 
little heads are seen above a green fence, and 
Mary, dressed like the maid she represents, goes 
along the line carrying the watering-pot and 
watering her flowers (with a dry pot, of course), 
w^hile the voice from behind the scenes tells the 
tale. On reaching the end of the line, she re- 
turns, and this time each little head, as she 
waters it, falls a little forward. Each face 
represents the center of a flower, while petals sur- 
round it, forming the corolla. 

bachelor's last evening 

In the bachelor's last evening a young man is 
seated facing the audience, a little to one side of 
the stage. It is the night before his marriage, 
and he is feeling a little sad as he thinks of all 
that he will have to give up on the morrow. He 
begins to think aloud of all his sweethearts: the 
Western broncho-rider, how fearless she was ! the 
dainty Quaker maiden in the plain dress, how 
charming were her thee's and thou's! the sum- 
mer girl ; the demure country lassie, with her sun- 
bonnet and milk pail, and so on, until his thoughts 



256 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

bring him to the bride of to-morrow, the one who 
alone has made him a happy captive. While he 
talks, describing each one and dilating upon her 
charms one by one, each as she is described ap- 
pears at the back center of the stage as a tableau, 
appropriately dressed ; last of all, the bride, all in 
v/hite and veiled, and on her the curtain falls. 
The lover all this time is unconscious of their 
appearance, which is only visible to the audience. 
This makes a very agreeable close for a dramatic 
evening. Tennyson's '' Dream of Fair Women,'' 
read and illustrated in like manner, is also good. 

THE CHARACTER-PARTY 

The character-party is a little newer than its 
sister, the book-party. Those who attend are re- 
quested to come in the dress of some well-known 
hero or heroine, taken from a book. Whoever 
guesses the greatest number of characters cor- 
rectly receives a prize, which may appropriately 
be a book. Sometimes it is well for the reception 
committee alone to dress in costume and serve the 
salads and ices after the manner of the characters 
they are representing. 



CHURCH AND SOCIETY 257 

A DICKENS EVENING 

The Dickens evening has been a great favorite 
for years ; the costumes are so very ridiculous and 
fascinating. 

PILLOW-DRILL 

A good ending to a general entertainment is 
the pillow-drill. It is very simple and pretty. 
Eight boys come on the stage dressed to look like 
pillows. Their heads, arms, and legs below the 
knee, are free. Their faces are powdered. They 
go through a simple calisthenic drill, or a figure 
from one of the square dances. Then a bell 
rings, and four larger boys, dressed like bolsters, 
enter and lie down at the back of the stage, 
bolsterwise. The pillows then arrange them- 
selves two and two on the bolsters, all of them 
moving to the time of the music. The curtain 
falls to the tune of a lullaby, or '* Good Night, 
Ladies.'' 



ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS AND 
EXERCISES 



i 



npHE flag-drill is a very pretty opening-day 
exercise. It may be given as follows: A 
large flag on a staff is given to a boy who is 
designated as color bearer. He stands on the 
platform, flanked on either side by a boy. If pos- 
sible, these two boys beside him ought to be 
musicians. A march is played; at the first notes 
the whole school rises, forms, and marches in and 
out and round the room, each child saluting the 
flag as he or she passes it, while the color bearer 
stands *' at attention." When all have saluted 
the flag, the drill is over. 

The salute consists in each child coming to 
'' attention " in front of the flag, and raising the 
right hand, palm out, to the forehead. 

This drill can be given to better advantage in 
an empty room, when the marching may be 
carried out to a more elaborate degree. The 
children, at first forming in sixes, march down 
one side of the room; then, as they wheel across, 
the column breaks into twos, as they pass the flag, 
stopping and saluting it. On the other side of 
258 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC 259 

the room the column wheels into sixes, marches 
again down and up the room, breaks again into 
twos, salutes the flag, forms into sixes, and so on 
and on the march is continued until the teacher 
orders a halt. 

A class-day just before Thanksgiving might 
commmence with the reading of the President's 
proclamation. A harvest hymn follows the read- 
ing; then comes an account of the first Thanks- 
giving day, which is followed by another hymn, 
or a song by the whole school. Paul Laurence 
Dunbar's '* The Signs of the Times '' might be 
recited, and other poems bearing upon Thanks- 
giving day. The children should be asked to 
bring some product of the fields for the decoration 
of the room. 

In one school each child was asked to bring 
what he or she could to make up baskets, which 
were sent to some poor families. It was very 
refreshing to see the pleasure the children showed 
not only in bringing their contributions, but also 
in packing the baskets. 

A Christmas entertainment opens with a 
representation of the Wise Men. Three boys, 
picked out for this, sing: ''We three kings of 
Orient are.'' A tableau might follow, showing 
the shepherds in the fields listening to the '' Song 



26o ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

of the Angels,'' which is sung by the children who 
are not in the tableau. Pictures (stereopticon), 
tableau, or pantomine of the Old English Christ- 
mas, German Christmas, Puritan Christmas, etc., 
would be a good finale. 

A historical exhibit might be given at any time 
during the school year, and deal with the periods 
of history in which the class is working. For 
instance. Revolutionary scenes, representing the 
First Continental Congress, in which the boys 
dress to represent some of the most famous of the 
First Congress — Benjamin Franklin, John Han- 
cock, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, etc. 

The meeting is called to order with due dignity 
by John Hancock; the roll is called, and the 
various members respond to it with sentiments 
taken from the speeches or writings of the one 
represented. John Adams says, *' Sink or swim, 
live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and 
my heart to this vote." Thomas Jefferson recites 
the opening sentence of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. John Hancock might say what he is 
represented to have said in the Congress, *' We 
must all hang together," to which Franklin 
added, " or we shall all hang separately." 

A second scene pictures the Battle of Bunker 
Hill, with General Warren urging his m.en, or 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC 261 

the poem, '* Charge for the grounds, your own, 
my braves!" being spoken by the boy who 
represents that character. Those who take part 
are all, if possible, in the costume of that day. 

A third scene represents Washington Crossing 
the Delaware. A fourth, the Surrender of Corn- 
wallis, with an appropriate reading for the oc- 
casion. Other scenes will suggest themselves. 

A general historical exhibit has more tableaux 
than the foregoing. The first is The Landing of 
Columbus, with a reading from Lanier^s '' Psalm 
of the West." The Landing of the Pilgrim 
Fathers, with the reading of Mrs. Hemans's 
" Pilgrim Fathers." The Liberty Bell, its motto 
written over it in large lettering. Read the 
Declaration of Independence. Columbia sur- 
rounded by the Thirteen States; while this 
tableau is shown, a chorus or the whole school 
sings ** Columbia, the gem of the ocean." Then 
comes the Battlefield of Gettysburg, with a read- 
ing from Lincoln's '' Gettysburg Address." A 
flag-drill might come in at this point, followed 
by the national anthem. 

These historical exhibits might be good for the 
class-day exercises, or for any of the national holi- 
days. 



262 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

A LITERARY DRILL 

This IS conducted in either of two ways. In 
the first, an author is selected as the subject. One 
child has to give his name, dates of birth and 
death; another tells something about his works; 
a third child reads or recites something from his 
writings. A glimpse of the author's appearance, 
with a short description of his character, is given 
by another child, and the whole is summed up by 
the teacher, who has the various points that have 
been given reviewed by the scholars. The child 
who remembers most and gets the most points 
might be rewarded in some way, such as by giv- 
ing him a work by the author under discussion or 
a prettily bound edition. 

The second way to carry out this exercise is to 
take a certain period in literature. Some of the 
scholars dress to represent authors of, say, the 
Elizabethan period; one might dress as Shake- 
speare, another as Raleigh, etc. Each one gives 
the date of the birth of the author he represents, 
some account of his life, etc., but always with- 
holding his name. The description is here given 
in the first person, and the impersonator may also 
quote from the author. The object of this drill 
is to have the rest of the scholars tell, from the 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC. 263 

dates and description, the name of the author and 
what he has written. These drills might be given 
for a class-day to which the friends of the scholars 
have been invited. 



GEOGRAPHICAL EXHIBIT 

This consists in having each child come dressed 
in the costum.e of a country, perhaps of one they 
have learned about in their geography. They 
bring with themi a package containing some prod- 
uct of that country. These packages are handed 
to the teacher, and when all have been delivered, 
the scholars are asked to tell her from what 
country the product she holds up comes. One of 
the children points to the child who represents 
that country. Then she or he tells the teacher 
something about the country, and also about the 
product, and, if possible, the journey it takes to 
get to the place where the scholar lives. For 
instance, tea, how it is dried and prepared for 
m.arket, and by what course it would come to us. 
The parents and friends might be invited to 
attend the exhibit, which ends by the scholars 
singing some of the national anthems, and ending 
with their own. 



264 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

ARITHMETIC EXHIBIT 

In this, each scholar is provided with a large 
pasteboard figure, cut out to represent one of the 
digits; these should be about a foot high. Some 
children should carry ciphers and others the four 
signs {-{-, — , X, and -^ ) and '' equals '' ( = )• 
The object of the exhibit is to go through the 
four rules by the use of these figures. For 
example: the teacher calls out 25 X 25; the chil- 
dren representing these figures come forward, and 
also the sign =. The answer is made by the 
children 6, 2, 5, who represent it; they take their 
places in proper order after = (equals). If the 
children representing the proper answer cannot 
give it, others are asked to pick out the right 
figures and to bring them forward. A variation 
of this is the living multiplication table. For 
instance, take the third line. The child who 
represents three comes up and stands in a 
designated place, next comes the sign (X)j then 
072^; without a word, up comes equals ( = ), and 
lastly another three; and so on all down the line. 
The children can either remain in their places un- 
til the whole line is complete, or might go back 
to their places, as it suits the teacher. This might 
be carried out as a drill, the children coming for- 



i 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC 265 

ward without having to be told to by the teacher. 
In such a case the children might all be dressed 
in one color, and when the line is complete they 
could all march, the whole five in a row, and by 
degrees form into four abreast, then three, and 
so on, until only the digit representing the line of 
tables taken remains. 



LIVING SPELLING-BEE 

The living spelling-bee can be carried out in 
much the same way. A word is given out, and 
the children who represent the correct letters 
come forward of their own volition. Columns of 
five words each might be formed, and a sentence 
as a finale. For instance, ''A merry Christmas," 
"Good-by," ^^God bless you," "A happy New 
Year," etc. 

THE COUNTY FAIR 

This is very instructive all the way through, 
without appearing to be so. Boys and girls are 
asked to bring exhibits of their own making or 
growing, if they have gardens; also their pets, 
somie of which, perhaps, they have raised. It is 
well to let the children help in every detail of the 



266 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

fair, not only as exhibitors but '' behind the 
scenes.'' The fair can be held in a hall or tent, 
which should be divided off into sections, with 
proper places for the birds and animals; or for 
the doll show — the dolls, of course, have been 
dressed by their little owners; or for fancy and 
plain work. A judge is appointed, and prizes or 
medals may be given. At one county fair a boy 
of fourteen received a prize for a miniature 
wagon which he himself had constructed. 
Another boy, much younger, had a pug-dog whom 
he had taught all sorts of tricks ; he also received 
a prize. Girls' prizes might be given for the best 
biscuit, bread, or cake; the best-dressed doll; the 
neatest piece of hemming, etc. Some of the chil- 
dren might raise plants from seed; some boys are 
clever in raising squabs and canaries. There are 
many ways the county fair might be held, and 
for many objects. It is well to teach children to 
give to the children in hospitals, or to poor chil- 
dren. 

HANDICRAFT EXHIBIT 

In schools where manual training is a part of 
the course, it is a good plan to give an exhibition 
once or twice a year. This might consist of an 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC 267 

exhibition of carpentering, designing in all its 
various branches, modeling in clay, free-hand and 
mechanical drawing, etc. Every exhibit should 
be arranged like any public affair— this not only 
teaches the pupil arrangement, but it also shows 
the work exhibited to better advantage — and 
marked with the name of the exhibitor. Music 
always adds greatly to such affairs, and it would 
be well if this part of the programme were carried 
out by the scholars themselves. 

APRIL 19TH 

April 19th is an anniversary that no school 
should neglect. Have '' Paul Revere's Ride ^* 
(by Longfellow) and Lowell's ^^ Ode to Free- 
dom " recited, also Emerson's '^ By the rude 
bridge that arched the flood." Show pictures of 
the Old North Church, where the signal-lanterns 
hung in the belfry for Paul Revere ; of Lexington 
Common and the Memorial Stone; of the North 
Bridge at Concord, with the monument to the 
British dead on one side and Daniel C. French's 
** Minute Man " on the other. Get good prose 
descriptions of the event and have them read. 
Sing '' America," and " The People's Song of 
Peace " by Joaquin Miller. 



268 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

ARBOR DAY 

Each child ought to be provided with a branch 
of some tree, and one or two boys should have 
hatchets and spades. Selections to be read might 
be such as '^ Woodman, spare that tree," the lines 
from '^ Evangeline " beginning, ^^ This is the 
forest primeval," ^' Thanatopsis," etc. At a given 
signal all will rise and stand in the aisle, and 
wave back and forth the branches they have 
brought with them, singing at the same time an 
appropriate song. During the singing the chil- 
dren march out with their branches, and a tree 
is planted in the school-yard or some suitable 
place. The exercises end with singing. 

ATHLETIC CONTEST ^j 

This is best given in the spring or fall. Some- 
times it is held in the school-yard, if it is pos- 
sible to secure seats for the onlookers. 

In this the boys of the school, or of different 
schools, take part, the exercises consisting of run- 
ning, jumping, pole-vaulting, throwing the base- 
ball, etc. Prizes are given to the winners, and 
also to those who come second in each contest. 

Each competitor begins, as a tournament be- 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC 269 

gan, by asking for a favor from one of the fair 
ladies, which favor he wears throughout the day. 
The prizes are awarded to the winners by those 
from whom they received their favors. 



MAY-DAY 

At a May-day party given indoors in one 
school, the children were shown how to make 
baskets by cutting cardboard into squares measur- 
ing about eight inches, and sewing together the 
opposite corners. These baskets they filled with 
wild flowers they had gathered the afternoon be- 
fore. Handles for the baskets were made of wire 
fastened underneath the sew^ed-down corners, and 
the children marched to music, carrying their 
baskets and singing their pretty songs. Recita- 
tions about birds, flowers, and spring were 
brought in between the exercises. After the 
festival the baskets were taken to hospitals, and 
to sick children in poor homes. 

FLOWER-HUNT 

A picnic and a botany class were combined in 
one school; the children brought their lunch to 
school, and if the day was seasonable they all ate 



270 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

it out of doors. Afterward thej^ started off in 
search of specimens, the teacher having explained 
to them something of the classification of flowers. 
The first afternoon the children gathered speci- 
mens, and soon learned how to tell to what 
family the flowers they had picked belonged. 
When they returned home they carried armfuls 
of flowers to give to any sick people they knew. 

MEMORIAL DAY 

Recitations appropriate for Memorial day are: 
'' All Quiet Along the Potomac," by Ethel Lynn 
Beers; ''Rifleman, shoot me a fancy shot," by 
Charles Dawson Shanley; ''Soldier, rest! thy 
warfare o'er," from "The Lady of the Lake " ; 
"The Blue and the Gray," by F. M. Finch; 
" Peace," by Phoebe Cary; " The Bivouac of the 
Dead," by Theodore O'Hara; "Sheridan's 
Ride," by T. B. Read; "Barbara Frietchie," by 
Whittier; "Old Ironsides," by O. W. Holmes, 
etc. ; including, whatever else is or is not on the 
programme, Lincoln's " Gettysburg Address." 

An account miight be read of the Civil War 
from both standpoints. A short talk might be 
given on one of the battles by an old soldier who 
was present, and patriotic songs should be sung in 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ET C. 271 

chorus. Pictures of all the heroes of the war 
should be hung in the schoolroom, and the chil- 
dren might bring flowers to hang around them. 
The room should be decorated with flags, and 
perhaps some old arms which had been used in 
the war. 



FLAG DAY 

June 14th is the day set apart as the birthday 
of the Stars and Stripes, and should be observed 
if possible. Decorate with flags and with red, 
white, and blue bunting. Display a picture of 
the Betsey Ross house, and interest the children in 
the association (composed largely of children) 
which has for its object the preservation of this 
historic dwelling. Have some one recite *^ The 
American Flag,'' by Joseph Rodman Drake, and, 
of course, the singing of *' The Star-Spangled 
Banner " is a very prominent feature of the oc- 
casion. Have some one tell, or read in an essay, 
how Francis Scott Key came to wTite it. If the 
class is large enough, have a flag exercise as fol- 
lows: Thirteen children represent the thirteen 
original States, costumed as nearly as possible in 
characteristic way — Massachusetts, a Puritan ; 
Virginia, a Cavalier ; Pennsylvania, a Quaker ; 



272 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

New York, a Knickerbocker, etc. On the wall 
behind where these are grouped in a tableau 
hangs a large flag with thirteen stars, and blue 
ground sufficient for all the others. The re- 
maining stars, neatly cut out of white cotton 
duck, are in a basket on the teacher's desk. One 
by one the States admitted come forward in 
chronological order, represented as character- 
istically as possible, and the child w^ho represents 
each, after telling something of its pioneer history 
and the date of its admission, pins a star onto the 
blue field, and then joins the ranks on the plat- 
form and is welcomed by those already there. 
Kentucky represented by Daniel Boone, Cali- 
fornia by a '' Forty-niner,'' Oregon by Lewis and 
Clark, and so forth, gives an opportunity for one 
of the best possible displays of the school year, 
and makes necessary much research. As a final 
tableau, the Philippine and Hawaiian islands and 
Porto Rico and Alaska might appear, and over 
them be waved the Stars and Stripes. 

COMMENCEMENT BANQUETS 

For a graduating banquet the decorations are^. 
in class colors, the centerpiece made of silk orff 
some other material, even crepe paper, cut intor 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC. 273 

the figures representing the year. Each member 
of the class should be furnished with a card bear- 
ing the name of the school, with the date of 
graduation, and a pencil attached. On these 
cards each student is to write his name, so that 
each shall have the autograph of the entire class; 
to the cards might be attached a favor symbolical 
of some event in the school life of the student, or 
something characteristic of the school. 

In the cap-and-gown supper or banquet 
students are dressed in cap and gown. The 
favors are dolls dressed likewise. For the center- 
piece have a large representation of an inverted 
college cap, and place inside a bowl of the class 
.lowers. The ices are served in miniature college 
caps lined with white paper. The cakes are in 
the shape of hollow rolls; a roll of white paper 
is tucked within, on which a couplet or verse ap- 
propriate to the occasion has been written. The 
rolls represent diplomas, and are tied with rib- 
bons. 

SKULL AND CROSSBONE SUPPER 

The centerpiece is a large skull, made of white 
paper, hollow at the top to admit of a bowl of 
^ flowers. The ices are served in miniature skulls, 



274 ENTERTAINMENTS AND GAMES 

crossbones attached. If there is to be smoking, 
ash-trays, etc., might be in the style of skulls. 
The toastmaster's chair is decorated with skull 
and bones. Toasts might be given, if in a college 
where there is rowing, ^' on the skulls '' (sculls) ; 
on the ^^ crossbones " of the college ; on the col- 
lege meals, under the heading of *' Bones"; on 
the college intellect, under the heading of " How 
Hollow 'Tis," etc. 

MOCK COMMENCEMENT 

Mock commencement makes a good class ban- 
quet. The toastmaster impersonates principal or 
president, and addresses the class; a graduate 
reads a brief essay on '' Per aspera ad astra," or 
some equally joke-worn theme, and a bogus chair- 
man of the board of directors presents diplomas 
as follows: 

To the most popular member, a wooden spoon. 

To the handsomest, a mirror. 

To the most industrious, a garden implement 
for digging. 

To the fattest, a pair of scales. 

To the thinnest, a bottle of tonic. 

To the most talkative, a pair of clappers, etc 

Following this, the class historian may read its 



SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS, ETC. 275 

history (comic), the prophet may read its future, 
some one Vv^ho will be a lawyer may make its 
will, bequeathing certain traditions to the Juniors, 
and many other amusing features may be intro- 
duced. 



: 



INDEX 



Adventurers, the, 89 
Afternoon tea, 10 
All fool's day, 25 
Animal, vegetable, or 

mineral ? 94 
Ants and grasshopper, 

105 
April 19th, 267 
Arbor day, 268 
Arithmetic exhibit, 264 
Athletic contest, 26i8 

B 

Balls, receptions, etc, 28 
Bazaars, 251 
Birthday party, 51, 244 
Birthday social, 243 



Card-party, 11, 32 
Chafing-dish supper, 5 
Character-party, 256 
Children's parties, 49 
Chinese feast, 38 
Chinese shadows, 161 
Christmas parties, 57, 70 
Church and society en- 
tertainments, 235 
Clambake, etc., 47 
Class-day, 259 
Cobweb social, 247 
Commencement, mock, 
274 



Commencement ban- 

quets, 272 

Conundrum - party, 
Shakespeare, 17 

Conundrums, 171 

Corn-roast, 47 

County fair, 265 

Crambo, 96 

D 

Diamond puzzle, 171 
Dinners, formal, 20 

informal, 2 
Dumb crambo, 88 
Dwarf, the, 84 



Earth, air, fire, and 

water, 94 
Easter-rabbit party, 53 
Engagement announce- 
ment, 27 
Entertaining, formal, 20 

informal, i 
Entertainments, church 
and society, 235 
outdoor, 35 
various, 15 
Exercises, school, 258 
Exhibitions, school, 258 



Flag day, 271 
Flower-party, 38 



277 



278 



INDEX 



Forfeits, 137 
Fortune, hunt for, (^'j 
Fourth-of-July party, 36 



Games, card, 11 

indoor, 15, 49, ^2> 
outdoor, 197 
toy, 145 

Geographical exhibit, 
263 

H 



Hallowe'en, 65 
Handicraft exhibit, 260 
High tea, 3 
Historical exhibit, 260 
Honey-pots (game), 117 



I 



Indoor games, '/2, 
Informal dinners, 2 
Informal entertaining, i 
Informal luncheons, 9 
I spy, 205 



Jackstraws, 149 
Japanese fair, 242 



Lawn-hunts, 40 
Lawn-reception, 41 



Leaf-party, 62 
Leap-year dance or 

party, 6-^ 
Literary drill, 262 
Lubin, loo, 108 
Luncheons, formal, 2^ 
informal, 9 

M 

Malaga raisins (game), 

119 
Marbles, 218 
May-day, 53, 269 
Memorial day, 270 
Menagerie man, 203 
Mother Goose tableau, 

254 
Mulberry bush, 229 

N 

Name-puzzles, 172 
National parties, 17 
New Year's dinner, 23 
New Year's drill, 236 
New Year's eve, 61 

O 

Oats and beans and bar- 
ley, 106 

Obstinate cork, the, 155 

Open-air vaudeville pic- 
nic, 46 

Outdoor entertainments, 

35 
Outdoor games, 197 



INDEX 



279 



Parties, 11, 17, 36, 42, 

49, 62 
Photograph-gallery, 253 
Picnics, 43 

Postman, the blind, 115 
Puzzles, 171 

Q 

Questions, twent}^ 74 
S 

Saint Patrick's day, 16, 

25 
Santa Claus, home of, 

57 
School exercises, 258 

School exhibitions, 258 

Sewing-circle, 14 

Shadows, Chinese, 161 

game of, 162 
Shakespeare c o n u n - 

drum-party, 17 
Snow-games, 211 
Social, birthday, 243 

cobweb, 247 

color, 243 

guessing, 238 

valentine, 245 



Spelling game, 103 
Stag-dinner, 8 
Stage-coach, the, 80 
Supper, chafing-dish, 5 
men's, 237 



Tea, afternoon, 10 
Tea-party, Miss Colum- 
bia's, 56 
Thought-reading, 98 
Toys and toy-games, 145 
Traveler's alphabet, the, 

76 
Tricks, 153 
Twenty questions, 74 



Valentine party, 52, 246 
Valentine social, 245 

W 

Washington's Birthday 

dinner, 24 
Witch-party, 18 
Word-hunt, 16 
Word-puzzles, 174 



^^Je: 



3i<-77-3 L 



21 



^ 



